The biggest problem for many of the RR museums and tourist rail operations, that are having serious problems is a poor business plan, with a lack of a clearly defined and sustainable mission, and a lack of adequate planning for the future.

Aging volunteers, aging equipment, and a changing public relationship with RR's and what they represent need to be considered and planned for if many of these collections are to even survive, and hopefully thrive.

Aging volunteers from a time when there was more general knowledge and skill sets need to be replaced, not because they are curmudgeonly old farts like me, but because some of them are not going to be around much longer to do some of that. A new generation will need to be recruited and trained to learn those skillsets to replace these aging volunteers and docents.

Aging equipment needs to be preserved and maintained and that takes both the skillset and money, which requires business plans that can create revenue streams from "fares" for visiting, riding trains, and other "venue" revenue sources, from corporate/business sponsorships, marketing opportunities, and donations, and from public or private grants. And this, might make a case for why many museums might benefit from good professional help with the skillset to develop and carry out such sustainable business plans.

Failure to deal with these realities, and to prepare for these museums and collections for that inevitable future, will doom some of these organizations, and leave plenty of Merrill Oregon scrap piles...