I just received the NRHS NEWS for January 2007, and it is a rather remarkable issue, looks like somebody in Philadelphia must be reading the discussions on this forum. Some of the topics covered:

(1.) Tips to local chapters on how to deal with the media to let them know about activities and events. Gosh, how many times has that been discussed here? Nice that they finally recognize that very few people outside the NRHS are aware of their organization.

(2.) Planned improvements in publications. A suggestion: One big improvement would be more emphasis on the study of railroad history.

(3.) Discussion of shortage of volunteer help and the need to curtail or outsource services if more volunteers cannot be found. There is still no recognition that the location of the national headquarters makes it very expensive and time consuming for anybody who is not living in Philadelphia to get there and stay for any period of time.

(4.) Urgent request to get your dues sent in. Hmmmm.

On the back cover a shot of NRHS members at the fall Board of Directors meeting. No mention of the nice ALCO RS1 in the background. A diesel locomotive is still just something you have to put up with when there is not a steam locomotive operating. And therein lies one of the NRHS greatest problems, other groups, most notably NMRA and single railroad historical societies, have totally and completely taken over the study of diesel history due to NRHS lack of attention to it. Many diesel fans recognize that and have gone elsewhere, and that's a large portion of the potential membership that has been lost.

MX (not my real name)

You know, somebody I once talked to on the issue of the Bulletin a while back once groused to me that all the magazine did was print dry histories of long-dead railroads and book reviews. He exaggerated a bit, but in downsizing my personal collection of railroad paper i "de-accessioned" every back copy of the Bulletin that didn't have something directly relevant to a sub-category of my personal interest--and as spectacularly wide-ranging as my rail interests are, that was most of them. Meanwhile, Railroad History by the R&LHS became chock full of substantially more fascinating articles. As I recently described it to a friend, the NRHS mag was (back years ago) chock full of the "who, what, when and where", while the R&LHS magazine looked at the "how and why."

(Of late, of course, the NRHS has barely been able to just keep up with recounting the annual Activities Annual and convention coverage, let alone anything else.)



Playing devil's advocate here, can you possibly hypothesize a situation--other than online communications/presence only, sure to disenchant a fair share of the more elderly members--where that wouldn't be true? Chicago? Chattanooga? Chama? Charleston? Chippewa Falls? Cheapskate Crossroads?

The fact remains that the laws of incorporation require at least some token presence of a physical location. The NRHS is also blessed/cursed with a collection of books, photos, films, and videos, as well as who knows what else. No matter where they are, a whole bunch of people are going to be inconvenienced in that fashion. Do you have a realistic alternative? I don't, save for a greater and more active online presence and operation.

Both good points, Sandy. Being a member in both NRHS and R&LHS, I have also noticed the start contrast. R&LHS provides an interesting perspective on railroad history, NRHS is mostly involved with coverage of themselves and their own activities.

Regarding the headquarters location, a spot that is reasonably accessible and has a couple of possibly affordable motels in the neighborhood would be good. (maybe that is Cheapskate Crossroads?) The rent would probably be a lot lower too. Of course that might be a lot longer drive for the top brass to get to the AIRPORT.

If you are going to be in a large metro area, then most of your volunteers are going to be from that area too, and the local chapters become very important as the place to attract recruits. Maybe the national needs to work closely with those chapters to improve their activities and get them out in front of the public?

MX (not my real name)

Let's remember that SEPTA has a heavy-rail transit line running to the Philadelphia International Airport. The office in Philly is a few minutes' walk from Suburban Station. The last time I went there, I walked to a MARC station, rode MARC to Penn Station in Baltimore, and took Amtrak to Philly, with a hop on SEPTA to Suburban/Center City station. My car didn't move an inch, and I never got on a rubber-wheeled vehicle at all that day, even with side visits to a couple pubs via the El. When was the last time ANY of us could make that claim?

The devil is always in the details. I can find cheapish lodging around Philly if I try, perhaps out at the airport or out on SEPTA commuter lines. The rent may be cheaper in Chama or Chippewa Falls, but so is the available pool of volunteers. Locate in a sympathetic rail museum, and it's going to give an appearance of "playing favorites".

It takes work and money to be "accessible"--but it's also a necessary evil. The alternative is an institution that nobody cares about, because it's not even possible to--"they're never open anyway..."

With the R1, I've been able to travel to/from the NRHS office in Philadelphia from my home near DTW in a very short time.

The same can be said for anyone who can take Northeast Corridor Amtrak service or a train on the line to Harrisburg. To say nothing about NJ Transit or Septa.

Also, hotel prices in Philadelphia are much lower than those in many other big cities in the country.

Bob H

I know this is an old topic, but I've been thinking about this for a long time. I joined the NRHS in 1984, with a semi-active chapter in Florida. I was 14 at the time, and the chapter did a good job of not seeing me as a "kid" but simply one of their own. I stayed semi-active in that chapter until I felt Florida for the Army in 1998. I've maintained my membership with the chapter even though I since left the Army and put up roots in the Pacific Northwest.
The reason I joined the NRHS originally was for the fellowship and info on trains I couldn't find on my own. But the internet and independent groups not affiliated with larger organizations are filling that role just fine for me. Yes, there are two chapters somewhat nearby, but they honestly don't do anything I can't do alone or find out on my own on the net. I'm not the type who volunteers to chip paint off the roof of a rotting coach in the back tracks of some "museum" nobody ever goes to.
I suspect I'm a member for the reasons many other are, mostly to get info and the fellowship of the organization. I don't feel the fellowship as I did. I've contacted both local chapters asking about meeting dates and locations and got extremely lukewarm (at best) reactions. I got the genuine feeling they just didn't care about getting any new blood. And before you wonder, no, I'm NOT a "400-pound foamer with bad hygiene and questionable social skills" type.
I finally got my chapter annual yesterday, which I was interested in as it covers the only NRHS convention I ever went to. My wife took one look at the cover and said, "Did I read that right? It say 2005 annual!" She knows I've been letting memberships slip that I no longer do anything with and asked why I maintain the NRHS one. I couldn't really think of an answer for that, other than I want that 25 year pin. I want to be able to honestly say I was one of the youngest members in NRHS history ever to be awarded one. She said she could understand that, but asked, "What happens after that? I can't imagine you still caring in another 25 years." She's right, of course.
A good friend of mine from the chapter in Florida and I talked about this when they came up to chase trains a couple of years ago. He mentioned that the national conventions just aren't what they used to be, mostly for situations beyond the NRHS's control, such as insurance and lack of cooperation with freight railroads for fan trips to go with the conventions. He said there isn't much the NRHS does now that you can't find elsewhere and much better done in many cases. I have to agree with that. I think rail buffs expect more now than the NRHS can provide. Sure, they do things like support museums and do some trips, but all in all, you just don't much out of it that you can't get from volunteering at any tourist museum or operation.
It's been said to me before but I haven't read it on a forum yet, I must wonder if maybe the day of the NRHS is passed or going to be? Seems that they haven't done anything to try for newer membership or do anything to gains members anything they can't already easily get on their own. After almost 25 years, I can't see any personal benefit of being a member, and haven't for a very long time.
In 2009, I should get my 25 year pin. I can't see myself being a member for very much longer, and I intend to send a letter to the national organization stating why.

Lately I am hearing that everyone should read the renewal form very thoroughly to see what they are and are not entitled to with renewal. I have heard that with some of the publications being long overdue they have adopted some new rules covering what you will and will not receive if you chose to drop out.

I renewed for another year, but frankly the railroad speaker program at one of the local libraries and the meetings of an independent historical group that meets at another library have left the closest NRHS chapter completely in the dust. They notify the local media of events and distribute flyers to restaurants and hobby shops, the NRHS chapter does not. Also they seek out good independent speakers and invite folks in the industry to participate while the NRHS chapter draws almost exclusively from within their own pool of members (ie: same old stuff, meeting after meeting).

I think the outcome is predictable at this point, just a matter of time.

MX (Obviously Not My Real Name)

The local chapter I belonged was like pretty much most, I'd guess. When I still went to meetings, it was to hang and talk with my buddies, little else. They used to show videos but heck, most of us have plenty of them now. As for a newsletter, I wrote several pieces for it, but I think the last newsletter of any kind they printed was probably 4 or 5 years ago? I'm serious about that! They have a yahoo group, to their credit, but even that has very little on it. My understanding is this isn't unusual for smaller chapters. I've been told by a national director who chooses not to be named that several chapters were disbanded within the past few years for lack of membership.
I looked through the chapter annual and didn't see much to lead me to believe it's different elswhere. I'm hoping the leadership has gotten together and discussed the future of the NRHS, assuming it even has one.

In my area we are seeing the local model railroaders take up the slack as the NRHS declines in presence and relevance. The local "independent" railroad historical groups activities are heavily attended by modelers, who have abandoned the tedious NRHS bureaucracy and their fossilized entertainment menus. I used to think the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) was an odd outfit that published silly newsletters, that is certainly not the case around here nowadays. They have effectively incorporated the interests that the NRHS has never pursued (railroading in this century, for example), they communicate effectively through use of their websites, they attract industry professionals as program presenters, and they reach out very visibly to the public through their shows and events.

The local NRHS group could learn and adopt some of the communication skills, but I doubt that they will. They seem satisfied to just be a social circle for the same group of people who have very little communication with the outside world. The group has no website, only the members getting the mailing (sometimes received after the meeting is over) might have any chance to find out what the program is going to be at a particular meeting. They hold a long tedious business meeting followed by presentations that cover the same topics they looked at last year, with the same debate over what year a particular branchline was embargoed, or when a fantrip was last held on a particular line.

I should point out that our local NRHS chapter is not typical of all NRHS chapters, I have attended the meetings of some chapters that did an excellent job of communication and hosted interesting activities. It just happens that our local group has become particularly stale, which seems to satisfy at least some of the people who are members, apparently there is a certain "comfort" level that accompanies a consistent lack of excellence. In a metro area of almost ten million people they are lucky to have thirty people show up at their meetings, twenty is more typical.

In contrast, one of the local independent groups in a small town that has close ties to the NMRA and local modelers, typically attracts eighty to a hundred people to their historical society's meetings, and has had as many as 160 people show up for some events.

The lesson of this for the preservation community should be obvious. Pay attention to what the model railroaders are doing, and try to work with them to whatever extent you can. They have the momentum, the communications, and the interest right now.

MX (Obviously Not My Real Name)

Guys, look in the mirror. Who do you think they are? As in, they aren’t doing a good job at the NRHS, your local chapter, or plug in your own favorite organization. You only get as much out of an organization as you put in to it. Chapters aren’t doing anything, are you volunteering? To use a very old phrase, “If you’re not part of the solution, then you must be part of the problem.”

Before I became the Executive Director at the Nevada Northern Railway, I was a volunteer. And truthfully, I longing look back at those days. I got to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it and at my pace. And if I got bored, no problem, I could wander off and ‘help’ someone else. I didn’t have to do what needed to be to be done on the schedule that it needed to be accomplished. Now as the Executive Director, my work load is unbelievable, the challenges are huge and seemingly impossible, and there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done, yesterday. A one arm paper hanger has an easier job.

And have fun? A week ago, I got to pull the throttle on locomotive 40. This was the first time in four years! Why? Because to keep an organization running takes moving tons of paper and raising money. And frankly that’s not fun, but I get paid to do this job, so I don’t whine about it. There is a long line of people who are willing to pull the throttle on 40 and not even be paid to do it. (actually hundreds of people pay us to do it but that's another story.) So I take the jobs that need to be done and that nobody wants to do. I signed up to be the Executive Director, the job is nothing at all like I imagined, but again, I am being compensated to do the job.

The officers, directors, and editors at the NRHS do not get compensated. Yet they have a job to do that has to seem impossible. Our society is changing. And the NRHS is caught in that change. We’re not a nation of joiners anymore. Fraternal organizations are closing chapters across the country. I commend the NRHS for realizing that they can’t depend on volunteers as heavily as they once did and they are changing. They get kudos for that, but will it happen fast enough, I don’t know. BUT THEY ARE TRYING!

I think the most exciting program that the NRHS offers is RailCamp. Yes, I’ll beat my RailCamp drum again. It is the one program that is actively addressing the core ailments of the Rail Heritage field and it is a NRHS project! Yet I see no movement from the field to increase the program. I’ve done two postings on RailCamp and neither time has it started a discussion.

RailCamp involves the youth. How important is this to our future? RailCamp involves adults who can be converted to volunteers. (By the way, all of the attendees at the first ever adult RailCamp were baby boomers, and all have made donations to the museum.) Does your organization need volunteers, money? Here’s a program that is pretty much turn key. Frankly, I believe every rail museum in the country should offer a RailCamp EVERY summer to both Adults and Teens!! (This is my personal opinion. I have not suggested this to the NRHS, yet. I believe it’s doable.) And if the stories from RailCamp made it into the Bulletin, would that make the Bulletin more relevant to the members, you bet. (We got a great story about the teens building track.)

So again; the them are us and we have a great track record of being our own worse enemies (as events in the past few weeks have shown.)

And please don’t post the lame excuse, “Oh I tried and they wouldn’t welcome me with open arms.” Make your self welcomed. Learn what they are doing, then cajole, nudge, volunteer and help out. But don’t expect the club or the chapter to bow and scrape to you. For the most part, they’re trying the keep the wheels on the rails, and they could surely use your help.

I will now humbly put my soapbox away.

Well said Mr. Bassett!!! Indeed!!!
Ross Rowland

That is an excellent post Mark, nice thoughts, but a lot of us already carry multiple membership cards. NRHS exists in an environment where there are several other organizations whose functions and interests overlap theirs. If they do not provide a service that is relevant to peoples interests, and other groups do, then those other groups will grow and prosper. You can see that happening now.

To use an old phrase: "Look in the rear view mirror. Oops, too late, everybody has passed you already."

Or to use another old phrase, some folks "can't see the railroad, all those locomotives are in the way".

MX

I agree. I have a letter on my desk, which shares your thoughts. And my answer is, you have a choice to make: 1) Cut’m off, sending $15 to lots of different organizations isn’t really helpful to anybody. Pick and choose wisely and throw your support to the ones that give you the most bang for the buck. 2) Send money and volunteer. But understand that sometimes your volunteering and the organizations needs will not mesh. Be understanding, you want to do ‘x’ but the organization is doing ‘y’ and can’t change right now to assist you on ‘x’. So either help on ‘y’, if possible, or offer to clean the bathrooms, visitor’s area, coaches or whatever. That is a job that always needs doing. 3) Send the money and give silent support understanding that the organization is doing the best job it can under the current situation and pitch in where you can.

But the real issue is, don’t stand on the sidelines and criticize. We have enough problems without finger pointing. Does that mean everything is sweetness and light? No! We need real discussion. We need to hash out the issues that address our challenges. But what we don’t need, is a lot of burning of oxygen just saying organization ‘a’ needs to be doing such and such, unless of course you’re one of the ones who’s part of organization ‘a’ trying to actually do it.

Again, the soapbox is put away

OPEN ARMS? Bowing and scraping? Geez, I'd have been happy with them telling me when and where their flipping meetings were!

I think it's easy to say to someone that, "well, you didn't strong-arm yourself in there to change everything for the better, so you're the problem." Besides, I'm talking about a national pheonmenon iwhtin a specific group, not railfans in general in a specific place. The issues I brought up are often repated back to me by those living in other parts of the country.
If you aren't bright enough to realize that a group that makes no effort to even talk to someone who asks about their group is in effect blowing off one of their feet in the process, you have greater issues than anything dealing with just trains...

When we solve this question here, I'll invite you to my church and my former Masonic Lodge.

Wesley