Hi all-<p>Great threads lately. All good opinions.<p>So, does anyone else see the common thread among the Berkshire and NMOT posts?<p>What it comes down to is the glaring truth that so many of us are hiding fromÂ… a lack of unity in the rail preservation community.<p>Things have changed in railroading which have made the overall lack of organization among preservationists more of a stumbling block than ever. Hardly anyone of any position of consequence really has the best interest of rail preservation as a whole on their minds, yet that should be the ultimate noble goal.<p>Your combine in East Bumbleweed is either a freakÂ… a lost soulÂ… a relic with no peers, or it is a link in a greater storyÂ… a piece of a larger puzzle.<p>LetÂ’s say you can take the high road and see it as part of rail preservation as a whole. Can you take the next step and actually give up a piece that could be interpreted better somewhere else. Or not try to get federal funding for your 4-whatever-4 if you have no place to run it?<p>Face the facts, NMOT has suffered greatly over their myopic view on the DL&W Camelback, and their lack of big picture thinking has scarred opinions in and about the transportation preservation field.<p>Adding that UP caboose is not a problemÂ… not returning the DL&W Camel is the underlying issue. When you add that to the condition much of the collection has fallen into, then you have a really bad PR scene.<p>The challenge to NMOT management is to change that perspective and take a leadership role as a museum, not as a parochial collection of trains, in the effort of the greater good.<p>This change is not easy. In 1989 I sat on the front of the NKP Geep as we kicked cars about the Steamtown Yard and casually suggested a working arrangement with the Fort Wayne group to help #759. Management on the engine with me scoffed at the idea.<p>But, as with all museums, things change. Now Steamtown has a much more proactive community view.<p>Dave, I would love to see your "national" steam locomotives ready to roll as needed, but to do so would require maturity we have not seen in large numbers. Look at recent IRM events for more on maturity and that age-old bugaboo of forgetting that it has to be trains-first.<p>Want a first step, here is the challenge to NMOTÂ… send the Camel to Steamtown and the Reading inspection engine to the new Reading museum. Put these two pieces back in meaningful geographic regions and them to be interpreted properly.<p>You wonÂ’t lose, just the oppositeÂ… you will win and be a leader in a field that so desperately needs national leadership. Come onÂ… take the plunge.<p>Anyone else accept the challenge? Spencer, youÂ’re doing it. Steamtown, too. Can it shape into a movement, or are we forever fragmented?<p>Rob<br><br>



inlinebob@aol.com

Rob-<p>Had the St. Louis group started work on the Lackawanna camelback before Steamtown wanted it back? Pardon my ignorance on this matter but it is obvious that there has been a lot of money spent on her and I just wondered if it came BEFORE or AFTER it was coveted by Steamtown-<br>Thanks<br>Ken



steam-locomotive.com
steamloc@steam-locomotive.com

rob, first off, i cannot take credit for this, but i commend this to everyone who plays a hand in railway preservation, especially folks who are in charge; instead of thinking of ourselves as "board members" rethink it as trustees; we're only here maintaining what's been placed "in trust" to us to preserve, protect, restore, and then pass to the next geneation; we're here, as our predecessors and successors have and will be, passing through history; once you quit thinking of the pieces as "belonging to us" and realize they actually belong to history, then you can further change thinking and do what is in the best interest of the pieces you're trying to save or get back into home territory;<br> one of the best things we can all do is to affiliate or at least make friends with good professionals in the museum business and learn as much as we can from them; malcolm makes a good point that we have to get beyond the club mentality and really strive to "do the right thing" which means doing what is right for you rolling stock and the people who attend now and will attend a 1000 years from now! <br> <br><br>



Wrinnbo@aol.com

Jim,<p>"Trustees" really is a better word for what we do, or should do, at a museum. A lot of us are scared of it, though, because it sounds too high falutin'.<p>Thanks again for coming down to Atlanta for the Chapter's banquet last Saturday. Nice to see the presentation about the Shay. Really enjoyed the program and was glad you finally got down here on a day when 97 was running. <p>Your one mistake was talking about Shay races. This is more than enough incentive for us to get the Heisler running again and show you the speed and pulling power of a "real" logging locomotive. I think we've got about +9 mph on you in the racing department--we might drag 290 and 750 behind us to make things even. (Christmas Humor -- I don't want any nasty e-mails from "Shay people.")<p>--Malcolm<br>



collections@srmduluth.org