Just down the page, my RyPN colleague Tom Comillie provided a very interesting link to a heretofore unknown (at least, to me) National Park Service resource. Hopefully, I have replicated the link here.

I think we in the railroad preservation world fail to appreciate all that this agency does, and can do to assist us. My experiences with NPS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority, and many other agencies have generally been favorable. When they said no, they had valid statutory or practical reasons for their decision and explained them clearly.

Further, the personnel of these agencies often brought improvement ideas to a project, made significant contributions, and helped create a better than originally anticipated outcome. I remain continually amazed at the assistance available from government agencies and their professional personnel.

Getting to know the closest NPS facility manager and his staff would seem to be an basic task for any railroad museum. If there is not one close by, then learning more about the agency's resources -- and figuring out how to use them -- would seem equally essential. Judging all government services from a single dimension (i.e., did SNHS run enough mainline steam trips) seems most myopic. It also keeps our focus on a negative, thusly denying us the ability to utilize their many resources.

NPS Landscape Initiative
amiller@rtms-movietrains.com

I would have to say that as govermental as the NPS is the fact is that we are the Nation's major preservation agency for both the nature and historical sides of things.

As a historian, I wish that side got more of the pie. Maybe things will change as time goes by.

Ted Miles


ted_miles@nps.gov