Five-year strategic plan for the RR Museum of Pa. can be found in Adobe PDF at:

http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/whatsnew/RRMPA%20StrategicPlan%20Draft.pdf

Appendices at:

http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/whatsnew/Strat%20Plan%20Draft%20Appendices.pdf

Reply/comment form at:

http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/whatsnew/plan.htm

Interesting reading. I was there for the first time last year, In July, and I think that the great hall was about 120 degrees, no kidding, they really do need some form of HVAC. At least they have identified it as a problem.
Also the reference to building an actual roundhouse is interesting, as is the idea to fire up a steam locomotive (that was in the appendices). I sure would have made it to the museum quicker if 7002 was under steam!
Also interesting that they have finally realised that the steam era is over, and that someone needs to be looking at preserving diesels. I'd like to see that preserved pair of sharknose diesels on display.

I sometimes get the impression that a necessary step for the historical significance of some equipment to be recognized is for all the people who participated in the design and construction of the equipment to be dead.

That makes it possible to present "interpretive" guessing about why they designed it the way they did, rather than just inviting the designer in to talk about it.

Thanks for posting the link, very interesting reading.

Can't help but notice that there are so many challenges and opportunities in common between different railway museums. Apparently whether its primarily a volunteer or paid staff has little to do with it.

The "Critical Issues" list on page 31 contains many common challenges faced by railway museums across the country.

Certainly developing a concrete strategic plan, or at least developing a culture of continuous strategic thinking, is a major issue within our own organization, and I suspect many others.