Another museum for Pa! What to do with a k-4 indeed!

www.readingeagle.com/re/news/1035018.asp

don't know how long the link will last

pvanmeter@msn.com

sorry, try this

http://www.readingeagle.com/re/news/1035018.asp
pvanmeter@msn.com

Be interesting to see how this one plays out.

IT IS ALL WELL AND FINE THAT THE READING HISHICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM WOULD LIKE TO START ANOTHER MUSEUM IN P.A. BUT IS IT REALLY NEEDED THEIR IS A FINE MUSEUM AT STRASBURG,, BUT I IF IT IS NEEDED AND THE SPOT AT LEESPORT,PA IS TOO SMALL WHAT IS THE ANSWER,, GROW OR NOT??????????? I SAY GO FOR IT,,YOU NOTHING TO LOSE,,YOU HAVE PROVED THAT YOU ARE CAPEABLE OF RUNNING A MUSEUM AND YOUR RESTORATIONS ON DIESEL'S ARE FINE SO MOVE ON ......


cprh1b@attbi.com

> There is certainly something to be said for the Reading Co, the one Anthracite RR that saved some of its steam.

That having been said the Reading Co. Society doesn't have any of it-of course. (hint)

Given that within 200 miles of the planned location you have:

Steamtown
RR museum of PA
Strasburg RR
Wanamakers Kempton and Southern
Black River and Western
(i think its in 200 miles) Knox Kane and Kinzua
Gettysburg RR
Jim Thorpe (I forgot the name-senior moment)
Western Maryland Scenic.

Am I missing anything?

Most of those are within 100 miles. It would seem that with all the talk of lacking seats etc- will they have enough people through the turnstyle to keep open something that will require a pretty sizaeble capital outlay/annual operating costs.

I hope they think long and hard before pursuing this, especially in the face of a declining PA population and the relative saturation of the area with RR museums/tourist rides.

These guys work long and hard, deserve kudos but should be very careful before pursuing this.



Superheater@beer.com

I'm the webmaster/member of the RCT&HS. Thanks for all the interest. I too have raised the same points about proximity to many other rail attractions in PA. We're not only competing against them, but all other leisure/free-time businesses, non-railroad museums, entertainment establishments, etc. that also want your dollar.

However, what I think will help set us apart and a fighting chance at growing and surviving is our theme of "Reading Railroad-shaped communities. As the article states, we intend to base our operations in Hamburg, establishing shop/work facilities along with storage to protect the equipment. From there and in gradual phases, we intend to expand the museum to include communities along the former Reading mainline that served the PA anthracite coal regions.

It's an incredibly huge undertaking that we hope will be possible through community support from the many towns and boroughs that the Reading served. What's exciting is the local population will have an opportunity to participate in and be part of the process. This could entail creating and extending historical districts around the railroad right-of-way. This would open up a whole new horizon as far as moving the museum out of a static realm and incorporating as a living growing integral part of the region.

I guess the best way to roughly describe it is a cross between the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and the Henry Ford's Greenfield Village.

When I get the chance, I'll post more in-depth information regarding our present and future plans.

Any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mike Shirk
www.readingrailroad.org

looks like the biggest hurdle to the whole plan is to get off the exPRR in Hamburg to the exRDG!
Now we know what to do with a K-4 and a T-1!

pvanmeter@msn.com

Missing a few:

New Hope
Wilmington and Western
Stewartstown RR
MA & PA @ Muddy Creek Forks
Middletown and Hummelstown
Walkersville Southern

Probably more...

> That having been said the Reading Co.
> Society doesn't have any of it-of course.
> (hint)

> Given that within 200 miles of the planned
> location you have:

> Steamtown
> RR museum of PA
> Strasburg RR
> Wanamakers Kempton and Southern
> Black River and Western
> (i think its in 200 miles) Knox Kane and
> Kinzua
> Gettysburg RR
> Jim Thorpe (I forgot the name-senior moment)
> Western Maryland Scenic.

> Am I missing anything?

> Most of those are within 100 miles. It would
> seem that with all the talk of lacking seats
> etc- will they have enough people through
> the turnstyle to keep open something that
> will require a pretty sizaeble capital
> outlay/annual operating costs.

> I hope they think long and hard before
> pursuing this, especially in the face of a
> declining PA population and the relative
> saturation of the area with RR
> museums/tourist rides.

> These guys work long and hard, deserve kudos
> but should be very careful before pursuing
> this.


tom@forgottendelaware.com

And right on the Delaware River is the planned NJ Transportation Museum in Phillipsburg, NJ. Realistically, this one is never going to happen, but it will continue to suck resources away from other regional projects.

mlang67@siltech.com

Not to mention:

East Broad Top
The Altoona Railroad Museum
Cape May

> Missing a few:

> New Hope
> Wilmington and Western
> Stewartstown RR
> MA & PA @ Muddy Creek Forks
> Middletown and Hummelstown
> Walkersville Southern

> Probably more...

> That having been said the Reading Co.
> Society doesn't have any of it-of course.
> (hint)

> Given that within 200 miles of the planned
> location you have:

> Most of those are within 100 miles. It would
> seem that with all the talk of lacking seats
> etc- will they have enough people through
> the turnstyle to keep open something that
> will require a pretty sizaeble capital
> outlay/annual operating costs.

> I hope they think long and hard before
> pursuing this, especially in the face of a
> declining PA population and the relative
> saturation of the area with RR
> museums/tourist rides.

> These guys work long and hard, deserve kudos
> but should be very careful before pursuing
> this.
Yep, that's right. But, what do you do when you have a large collection of rolling stock, company archives, and other artifacts? Unfortunately, giving it to another museum would get significant items pared down, since they wouldn't have enough space, nor would they do it justice. Is the Reading not wouthy of having its history preserved? In answer to the proximity concern, there's some saying that goes "If you want to sell shoes, locate your store near a shoe store".

schwartzsj@juno.com

Actually, the RCTHS museum has been at Leesport for years. They have a huge collection of RDG archives and hardware.

In an earlier post, someone complained museums weren't saving freight cars; RCTHS has them; six boxcars for example.

The size of the museum being planned actually reflects how comprehensive the collection is.

check the website: http://www.readingrailroad.org/


Electric City Trolley Museum Association

Another worthy stop along the Pennsylvania Railway Heritage Trail.

It seems to me that so long as they differentiate themselves in their offerings from all the others they have nothing to lose. A close tie-in with anthracite mining might be one consideration. Just don't do the same kinds of displays / runs / whatever that people can find down the street.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

> Another worthy stop along the Pennsylvania
> Railway Heritage Trail.

As I have said before I have a large post card collection of most railroad preservation cards. The state of Pennsylvania has and has had more tourist railroads and railroad museums than any other state. 56 1/2", 48", 36" and 24 inch they have all been there at one time or other.

The more the merrier I say. It is not possible for any one organization to do everything. That is why we do not have a National Museum for either ships or trains. But a lot of good regional museums do the job. Some better than others of course... TM

ted_miles@nps.gov