This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of Railfan & Railroad.

Rage Against The Machines
by Otto M. Vondrak

In the complex world of historic railway preservation, you’re either one of the select few working inside or one of the vast majority observing from the outside. I have tried to explore topics of interest to those already involved in preservation, but also offer some behind-the-scenes insight to those who are not. The subtitle of this column is no joke, as there are complex issues surrounding almost every aspect of railway preservation, not counting each organization’s respective budgets and capabilities. Because of the strong divide between “us” and “them,” coupled with the rise of online discussion forums, a fair amount of rage and ill will have built up in both camps. Neither is advantageous to furthering the mission of historic preservation.

In my estimation, the modern preservation movement began when railfans began to organize in the mid-1930s, but really took hold in the postwar years as old equipment quickly headed to scrap as railroads modernized. In those early years, it was enough to save a piece, bring it to your property, hang a sign on it, and charge admission. Perhaps you were lucky enough to have a piece of track and actually run trains.

Over the last 40 years, our perceptions and expectations have changed. Visitors expect more than a rusty old train on display in the town park. Regulations governing the operation and restoration of historic trains have also changed; just ask anyone who has had to deal with asbestos or lead paint removal, moving equipment with friction bearings, or a visit from the FRA or OSHA.

The View From the Outside
Many railfans won’t even bother with museums and preservation. To some, the railroading portrayed is “fake,” the consists are often a dog’s breakfast of whatever is available, and fan favorites are often left neglected or kept hidden. If attempts are made to get involved, they are often rebuffed by an “old boys’ club” of insiders who don’t want to take the time to indoctrinate a newbie. When donations of funds or materials are contributed, little progress is made and the donors are rarely thanked.

Management is often seen as aloof, arrogant, or even downright hostile to suggestions or criticisms. Off the cuff comments like, “When will you paint such-and-such?” are often met with snarky replies such as, “When you write the check!” or “When you pick up a paint brush!” Such disdain does little to foster positive relationships or encourage donations or new volunteers.

Speaking of paint, how many times have you seen actual historic paint destroyed by having some Rustoleum or Krylon slapped over it in the misguided name of “preservation”? Attempts to save the original patina are met by a chorus of knee-jerk reactions by a bunch of ego-trippers rooted deep in the organization who have no time for outsiders.*

While some railfans might be inclined to throw their support behind a project or cause, sometimes reliable information is hard to come by. Rumors swell over some prize piece of equipment being bought or sold or moved or cut up, and any inquiry is often met with swift rebukes from the insiders who know the real deal. You are not entitled to this information because you aren’t a member! Why bother?

The View From the Inside
When I first became a volunteer at a train museum, I never believed I would be spending my free time emptying overflowing garbage cans. I also never thought I would be changing out a tie in sweltering summer heat, crunching event budget numbers and doing financial analysis, dealing with an upset mother and her three crying children who missed the last train of the day, or any number of tasks that follow in the normal course of operation. I’m actually not sure what I was expecting, but some 20 years later, here we are. The point is, organizations do everything they can to be responsible stewards of the artifacts in their trust, whether its a display in the park or a 20-mile tourist railroad.

Most visitors to railroad museums are families looking for entertainment or individuals with a passing interest in trains and railroading. They expect clean bathrooms, a comfortable ride, and some level of personal engagement. They do not differentiate between trolleys and trains, cabooses and coaches, Alco or EMD, or even (gasp) steam or diesel. As such, many museums choose to cater to these general audiences, as their admissions generate substantial revenue to fund future operation and restoration activities. Sometimes “authenticity” is sacrificed for practicality. We know cabooses don’t belong on the end of a passenger consist, but if it generates an additional $400 in sales because it fulfills the general public’s wish to “ride in the caboose,” so be it. Revenue will trump “railfan reality.”

Nothing bristles a volunteer more than hearing a statement from an outsider that starts with “You should...” Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and constructive feedback can only help you improve. No matter how patient you are, after you hear “You should restore that steam engine and run it!” for the hundredth time, sometimes you run out of polite things to say. Invitations to assist either in fundraising or actual hands-on work are often met with eye-rolls.

Every organization has its critics, some more vocal than others. Everyone deals with their fair share of “Monday morning quarterbacks,” “armchair preservationists,” disgruntled former members, and just plain old cranks. Each one has an opinion that is based on a perception of what they can observe from the outside (or some juicy bit of overheard gossip). Many attempts to provide accurate information are often ignored if they don’t fit someone’s preconceived notions of the situation, which is why most remain silent.

As leaders of a preservation organization, we face tough challenges. While we want to cultivate as much goodwill and support in the railfan community as we can, not everyone is entitled to information. Sales, acquisitions, or leases of equipment are not announced until the agreement is signed and the piece is delivered. Movements by rail that could be subject to special scrutiny are often kept under wraps — not to be a killjoy, but for the peace of mind for all parties involved. What’s more, who wants an audience around in the unlikely event something goes wrong? It becomes a lot easier to understand the need for discretion once your name gets added to the list of museum officers and the responsibility falls on your shoulders should anything happen.

Where’s the Balance?
There are hard feelings on both sides, to be sure. Some of this rage stems from what I like to call “sins of the father.” Organizations with a long history often have many skeletons in their closets. We are all guilty of some past misdeed, ranging from acquiring more pieces than we could reasonably handle to allowing some important acquisition slip through our fingers, or a misunderstanding that resulted in someone leaving the organization. Even though these events could have happened decades ago, under completely different management, you are now saddled with the responsibility for the fallout.

Those outside an organization might not know how to approach a group with questions or concerns about a project. The first person you talk to might not be the right one, either. Large groups often have complex levels of management dealing with various departments, so you might need to make several attempts before you find the right person. Such processes can be daunting to an outsider, which makes it hard to keep lines of communication open. Preservation groups should do everything they reasonably can to share progress and be transparent about projects and goals in an effort to gain support and earn donations. Some groups could stand to evaluate the ways they communicate their goals and accomplishments with the outside world.

Preservationists work hard to keep their operations active and profitable (you can’t restore trains if you run out of money). Railfans might be willing to support preservation, but airs of secrecy and superiority turn them away. Frustration is difficult to mask on both sides. Hostility is not the answer.

The truth of the matter is there might not be a way to strike perfect balance between opposing views. The best we can hope for is a sort of détente, and a modicum of understanding.

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*Quoted from an actual exchange on another railroad discussion forum.

This will go into my preservation file along with the Trains "McRailroad Museum"....

We all need to read this, look at our site while reading this, then think about what next...

Randy

A lot of times we are our own worst enemy. The negativity that is almost seemingly inherent to many RR 'preservation' efforts is contagious, quickly spreading internally, but even more quickly spreads externally. It is imperative that when we speak to anyone, we carefully measure our words. Organizations need to think about their appearance and attitude early on, and members who can't control their attitude need to be pushed away from the public and social media.

I wonder if the railfan is simply not much more interested in directly helping rail preservation then the rest of the public. We kind of expect that the railfans and others should help, maybe that just is not true. I think it's still important that we project positivity however.

I used to know a railfan who would badmouth a local museum group every chance he got. One member was rude to him and he never forgot it. When I mentioned that the offender had been dead for over 20 years this made no difference at all. This fan never donated to any preservation project and was very offended if someone suggested he help support the steamers he loved to watch.

There used to be a saying: "Railfans don't pay the freight". Meaning that if a museum doesn't please the public there aren't enough fans to keep the doors open. Remember, railfans are a much bigger group than the few jerks you notice.

This whole article sounds so familiar it hurts and I would swear the author volunteered for the organization I am with.

I was a converted railfan 3 years ago and have hit each one of these stone walls personally and been slapped down by them repeatedly. Fortunately I don't back down easy and have been able to wiggle my way through to the "inner circle" fairly quickly but I still get slapped back down.

Someone from the board will probably read this post and I will get slapped again..

That column made huge an impression on me when I was 12...

-otto-

"The point is, organizations do everything they can to be responsible stewards of the artifacts in their trust, whether its a display in the park or a 20-mile tourist railroad. "

If only we lived in a world where that statement was even close to universally true.

Trying to bridge the perception gap is a noble cause, but this may not be the way to do it. I read it more as confirmation bias than anything else.

I also question the statement that "Railfans might be willing to support preservation." Might they? So none do, now? Or do those that do suddenly become something of a higher order? From my recent experience, our most reliable, regular donors are railfans. Go figure?

Rob

Rob, I'd be interested to know how you encouraged railfans to contribute to your projects, and what projects they were. I find the kind of work being performed and the amount of money to be raised have a lot to do with what kind of contributions you get.

-otto-

Define "railfans".

Could a rail museum volunteer be a "railfan"? Could a tourist railroad employee be a "railfan"? How about an Amtrak or CSX employee?

I just took a trip to the other side of the country; I looked at a couple of noteworthy rail museums/excursion railroads. I took pictures and videos at each one. Am I a "railfan" for doing that? ( I know the snarky answers already... :-) ) And, while on my trip to the other side of the continent, I went to a couple of noteworthy (non-museum) rail locations and even saw a train (which I photographed!!). Am I a "railfan" for doing that?

Howard P.
Stir-The-Pot, Conn.

From experience when I was much younger my local rail museum had a certain cultural stigma to it. Older members often kept to themselves and had some inner circle of complete privacy within the ranks. When I attempted to volunteer they weren't very enthusiastic about it at all and I remember my mother telling me it wasn't worth the trouble. If you know anything about me however it's that I don't give up easily not when I really want to do something. I ended up joining but my options were limited by so called "age requirements." For a then 16 year old I couldn't work on any of the restoration projects nor help with event planning, that was reserved for those 18 or older. I was furious when I learned this and left the organization within a year. They've long changed since but those memories continue to stick with me today.

If you're an organization that wants to attract young people the worse thing you can tell them is "you can't do blank" or "you're not good enough to try blank." It's both demeaning and disrespectful to individuals who would give their honest time to help you. They are thousands of young people who I'm sure love trains so much they'd do anything to help a museum out. Don't run them away with your conservatism, change can be good and bring in new people with new ideas. I can't stress enough how many times this has happened and potentially great members have been lost.

Cameron

Howard P.'s comment above reminds me of something else.

In American railroading, rail employees often feel obligated, too often with good reason, to keep their enthusiasm as rail enthusiasts under wraps. It's apparently a handicap in a variety of ways, including limiting promotion.

You would think at least some members of management would understand the value of such enthusiasm among employees and the lower levels of management as well; we hear all this talk about how people should be enthusiastic about their work. . .

But what does the reality say?

Indeed, sometimes it seems the top management hates the companies they run.

Cameron, I have no idea what OBRM may be but there may be a good reason for the age requirements. What are the child labor laws in your state? What are the requirements of the museums insurance company. In many cases if you are not old enough to sign a legal contract you cannot participate in certain activities. When I was active in restoration you just needle gunned lead paint off onto the ground and dumped asbestos lagging over the bank. These and many more things are highly regulated now.

On another topic I say yes you can be a railfan and belong to a museum and work for a railroad. As a railfan I built and operated the railroad in a large scrap yard where I worked.

Yeah, their work... which is marching forward to a more profitable future, tradition be damned.

But railfans are all about tradition, which means they have their own agenda, at variance, sometimes at odds, with the company. Therefore they are suspect.

A lot of this just falls into the category of "working well with other people". Both museum people and railfans can have their issues with that.

(Not counting Rio Vista Junction, bless them. But they assure me it wasn't always that way, and they had their share of "issues" in their time. Not anymore though. That's what 60 years of experience does.)

At the end of the day, the mission is what matters.

The OP and several replies blunder into the most common mistake, of focusing on personalities and interactions. That's not what it's about. The railroad is a business with a mission. Not least, to make money and stay solvent. If it is a preservation organization, preservation is the mission.

Unfortunately, some have other plans. They see your organization as a platform from which they can do their own things. Your mission is X, but their thing is Y. They'll serve X enough to be accepted, but they're really there to do Y... as they get deeper entrenched, their interest in X wanes and they only do it when it doesn't inconvenence their Y.

To Captain RV, you're a free KOA campground. To Tinker Boy, you're a free maker-space that lets him work on his personal projects and won't make him take his junk home at night. To Master Collector, you're a free storage unit. To Hoarder, you're free space. To Embezzler, you're his livelihood.

These people have an irreconcilable conflict of interest with your organization. When it becomes so blatant you must confront it, you take away Y, they quit "in protest" and hate you for life. Shrug, that doesn't make you a bad museum, much the opposite.

Much of the kind of animosity OP discusses is actually this sort of thing. It isn't a thing you can fix, nor should fix.

What really happened is you used the mission as a filter. The mission is the sharp bladed knife which separates the genuine supporters from users. Be very clear: a person who is using your organization has no business there. You correctly screened a person not interested in X at all. Adhering to your mission is deeply honorable, and essential for your organization to be able to be taken seriously by the kulturny. This is what makes the difference between Rio Vista and Pemberton. This is how you bust out of the "collection of under-maintained junk that doesn't get along with neighbors" and become a regional asset.

And there are some that aren't gonna like it, because their idea of what you oughta be isn't what your mission says. So what? Haters gonna hate.

You cannot be swept away by that negativity, and in most cases, you don't even need to answer it. Social media has exposed just how much noise runs around in people's brains. If a thought can be thought, it's been thought -- Rule 34, but with negative emotions. If you want to know why that is, ask a meditator. (negative emotions, not Rule 34.)

As far as railfans not paying the freight, that is a reality we must operate under. They are fantastic donors. But I don't know too many museums that make it on donations. If you don't engage the general public, you probably don't deserve your 501c3 tax status. (since that is a condition of 501c3 tax status...) The far greater threat is a preservation organization becoming colonized by railfans, and serving a railfan agenda instead of the mission.

I don't agree that railfans are all about tradition. Many think our prewar loco would be cooler with ditch lights, had no idea that interurbans existed, could not name predecessor roads, and are so fond of orange vests that I'm happy for their lifestyle choices. Maybe it's just an education gap, but they don't seem to dig the history much at all, and would prefer modern stuff.

I'll agree with you there, in the context of a museum. Railfans tend to think everything needs to be done the way the "real" railroads do it, not the way they did it in the era that we are trying to portray.

But my previous comments were addressing the suspicion of railfans by the railroad industry, and if it's not exactly tradition, it's still that they have their own agenda, at variance with the company's.