Yes, a very good thread. While I agree that volunteers are important
to museums, keep in mind that there are skilled/technical jobs/tasks
that may be difficult to fill with volunteers, unless you just happen
to have volunteers with that background.

Many industrial tasks these days -- such as spray painting -- have
complex health and environmental regulations, too. So, if for no other
reasons than liability, it may be necessary to have some work done
by professionals who get paid for that work.

I do appreciate the work at all the museums that I've visited, and I've
been to a number of world-class rail museums in both the U.S. and Europe
-- including several visits to the CSRM.

Me? I volunteer with the North Carolina chapter of Operation Lifesaver,
where I'm the volunteer webmaster and help with publicity and other
communication efforts.

-- Ernest