wsabo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BOB2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 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.
>
>
> Bob2
> Your comments hit the nail on the head... or the
> spike on the rail to put it another way.
> All these groups started out with good intentions
> of saving historic rights of ways and equipment
> but unfortunetly most took on more than they could
> afford to restore and preserve. Now they have a
> lot of panful choices about what can be saved and
> what must be scrapped.
> It seems like the Pacific Railroad Society is
> doing the right thing by donating some of it's
> collection to other museums like the one in
> Montecello IL
> Since most are so far apart I don't know how a
> merger would work

As one "old duffer" involved in both preservation and trying to fit it in around an operating shortline railroad one needs to rationalize just what works and is worth restoring. Do we REALLY want to move that piece of equipment with questionable value ONE MORE TIME...we've already moved it TWICE?

The reality of most of this hoarding is that much of it was donated back when it was readily available and some had some spare cash to pick it up cheap or free just for the moving costs. Storage was available for free or cheap and material was able to be purchased at realistic prices for the restoration process. Mild steel structurals and plate were around fifteen to twenty cents a pound and most everything was affordable because you could concentrate on one or two restorations and observe real progress being made..

Jump forward thirty or so years and you will pay fifty to sixty cents a pound for the same material today all the while the price of scrap steel (which many museums rely on for income) hovers in the ten to fifteen cents a pound range...if you're lucky.

Say you have a cheap or free place to keep your "collection"...in today's lawyer driven society you may still have free rent but you're gonna have to come up with adequate insurance to cover the risk to your landlord. Lawyers call this an "attractive nuisance" Multiply this by the number of groups involved and you have a bunch of insurance but no money left for the original purpose.

The ONLY solution in experience is for these groups who have had their own agendas for years to come together...quit the bitchin...decide what to keep and what to scrap and make a business plan...which most likely will lead to liquidation of much of the junk once the scrap market rebounds. And YESSSS...we need young blood.

Any group that has to rely on revocable trackage rights in this day and age is at the mercy of whoever controls the right of way be it a government body or a Class I railroad. The fewer these obstacles the more likely preservation can continue on a responsible basis,

Dick Samuels
Oregon Pacific Railroad