All of these museum and operating groups are in various states of "trouble" due to an aging population of contributors and volunteers, to maintain and operate an aging equipment roster.

Many of these organizations are or have been poorly managed, with disparate and unfocused missions, or missions that are unobtainable with the resources available. Lack of business plans, poor performance in getting grants and long term financial support, factionalism among members or boards, and a failure to develop a strong public or private donor base of support are all too common in these organizations. Many of these do not own a permanent facility, either.

Many of these groups will fail in the next decade as the current leadership dies off, if they have failed to develop and empower a new generation of leadership. The controversies over Feather River, Niles, and GGRM are an examples of this problem among RR museums and collections. Many of these groups need to merge, since they don't or shortly won't have the resources or personnel necessary to maintain or operate these collections.

Several of these collections will need new homes, and new relationships with the agencies that own and operate the lines they operate on, or reside on. Factions of old geezers whining about the other factions of old geezers is not conducive to that relationship building.

Lesson learned: Change of die.