Anyone allowed to comment on the discontinuance of Rail Camp at Nevada Northern?

I have a personal interest. My son is eager to participate when he qualifies in a few years.

Information was updated on their website last month. My impression is that they have undergone a name change from 'RailCamp' to 'Railroad Reality Camp'. Don't know if this was to allow participation by more individuals, or what?

http://www.nevadanorthernrailway.net/RR%20Reality%20Camp/RR%20Reality%20Camp.htm.

Great to encourage your son's interest. My encouragement led to my son's full time job -- which has allowed him to work on projects for UP, live steam hobbiests, and international excursion operators. He posts here as RR_Graphixguy and is pictured (below left) age 5 at the opening of the California Railroad Museum (RailFair 1981) and his daughter pictured last year (below right) with UP 844.

sc 'Opa' Lewis

ADDENDUM: from the NRHS website it would appear that Nevada Northern has terminated their relationship with the NRHS and thereby the use of the term RailCamp.

Nevada Northern is currently listing an "adult" and "teen" camp schedule, but the master description states the minimum age is 18. Does the teen camp have a lower age limit?

The NRHS Board of Directors met this past weekend in Charleston SC. At the meeting, I learned the Nevada Northern withdrew from the NRHS RailCamp program very recently. The program offered by the Nevada Northern in 2010 is a new one and has *no* connection to the NRHS RailCamp or to the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS).

NRHS will continue to offer the original RailCamp program at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA this summer. NRHS is committed to the continuation of the RailCamp program and is exploring several venues for programs to replace those formerly held at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Additional information and application forms will be posted on http://www.RailCamp.com as soon as it is available.

Scholarships for Teen RailCampers are available from NRHS and many NRHS chapters also sponsor RailCampers.

Funding for these scholarships is provided by tax deductible donations made to NRHS
and/or the chapters and a large percentage of the teens who attend receive scholarship support.

Bob H

I was disappointed to see that the Nevada Northern had pulled out of the Railcamp program. It is my understanding that Barry Smith had done a fine job is setting up that camp. A number of railcampers have attended both the program in Scranton and in Nevada. A lot of the more serious campers really enjoyed the Nevada camp because it was more "hands on" than the program in Scranton.

Nevertheless, the Railcamp program has been very successful. There are many former railcampers who are now involved with railroads all over the country. A number of them work on steam related lines as well and it has helped them get a foot hold into preservation.

My son attended Railcamp in 2005 and has been a counselor there for the past four years. He really looks forward to it and a number of campers have come down to visit him on the NH&I. Hope that you son can attend when he reaches high school age.

I have a suspicion that some of the larger operations are trying to use railroad experience programs as fundraising tools vis a vis the NRHS which was trying to encourage education and promote more individuals interested in preservation. Some of these programs are being priced at premium (the CATS fireman's program is nearly $2000 a head and more for those who go on to the engineer program. I don't have a problem with that, but I think some operators might get the idea that they can supplant their volunteer forces with people willing to pay for the privilege. No, none of the operations listed do this, but others, seeing the success of these programs, might be so tempted.

In the long haul, why would operations let people enjoy the experience for free if there are paying folks leaping for the chance? Something to think about.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

The RailCamp Programs sponsored by the NRHS are designed to introduce individuals to railroad preservation. They are part of the NRHS educational program and NRHS does not use the RailCamp activities to raise funds and/or to replace any volunteers at an activities.

The fee that was paid to attend an NRHS RailCamp was used to provide food, lodging, supplies, and pay fees for various activities. The NRHS operates the camps at a break even point whenever possible. Because of the nature of the teenage camps and the staff invovled to implement such programs, NRHS has never broken; even on the teenage RailCamps and contributes significant resources the the RailCamp Program.

NRHS wants to increase the number of individuals who may be interested in assisting museums and other rail related activities throughout the United States.

NRHS will open another site for both teenage and adult programs. It will be difficult to arrange another teenage program in 2010 but another adult program is not out of the question.

NRHS is committed to the RailCamp program and is working with several other museums interested in hosting a RailCamp.

Any alternative programs sponsored by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum are not part of the RailCamp program and are not tied to the NRHS in ant manner.

Barry Smith
Senior Vice President, NRHS
Director of RailCamp Programs