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Re: Rail Tales - western railroad museums in general
Author: fkrock
Date: 04-29-2015 - 09:24
I have have observed many different railroad and trolley museums both in this country and overseas for 57 years so I have seen a lot of things over the years. The problems listed above are not limited to the West.
All the museums have had factions that don't get along with each other very well. For example one trolley museum with no steam or diesel equipment has two factions, streetcars and New York subway cars. This museum has a good collection of both. I suggested that they should hold Board meetings in a theater and charge admission to the public because the battles between the two factions was a good show.
At the Seashore Trolley Museum the number of votes that each voting member gets is a function of the number of hours a volunteer labor put in by that member. A member who puts in a lot of time gets more votes than one who donates only a few hours. This is an interesting idea but the result is that most decisions are made by a fairly small group of people who have a lot of votes.
All museums that I have observed have had the following types of problem members:
1. The person who has been a nobody for years in the world of business gets a title at a museum. It goes to his head and he tries to be a dictator.
2. The person who is eager, works hard, puts in a lot of time, but is totally incompetent at what he does.
3. The person for whom the museum has replaced sex in his life. The museum has become an all consuming passion for him.
4. A rich member who tries to use his money to control things. How many rail museums have you seen with equipment that doesn't comply with the museum mission statement because a wealthy member has bought and donated it? In some cases this can be justified because the equipment would not have been saved if the rich person had not bought it before it was scrapped.
5. At all museums where I have gotten close enough to observe it, I have seen gay vs. straight differences between individual members. You have to look carefully sometimes but it's there.
All the museums have had factions that don't get along with each other very well. For example one trolley museum with no steam or diesel equipment has two factions, streetcars and New York subway cars. This museum has a good collection of both. I suggested that they should hold Board meetings in a theater and charge admission to the public because the battles between the two factions was a good show.
At the Seashore Trolley Museum the number of votes that each voting member gets is a function of the number of hours a volunteer labor put in by that member. A member who puts in a lot of time gets more votes than one who donates only a few hours. This is an interesting idea but the result is that most decisions are made by a fairly small group of people who have a lot of votes.
All museums that I have observed have had the following types of problem members:
1. The person who has been a nobody for years in the world of business gets a title at a museum. It goes to his head and he tries to be a dictator.
2. The person who is eager, works hard, puts in a lot of time, but is totally incompetent at what he does.
3. The person for whom the museum has replaced sex in his life. The museum has become an all consuming passion for him.
4. A rich member who tries to use his money to control things. How many rail museums have you seen with equipment that doesn't comply with the museum mission statement because a wealthy member has bought and donated it? In some cases this can be justified because the equipment would not have been saved if the rich person had not bought it before it was scrapped.
5. At all museums where I have gotten close enough to observe it, I have seen gay vs. straight differences between individual members. You have to look carefully sometimes but it's there.
