I'm fed up...discouraged...with both the abstract and concrete parts of operating within the railroad preservation community. I'm about to make a decision and drop the whole business...with the exception of reading this board. Very entertaining-and educational.

First some background. The organization in question shall rename nameless. The internal and external issues are not worthy of being repeated. Per this board, they seem to be endemic to many volunteer museum groups.

One thing is for sure. Many folks, whose skills complemented each other, have left. Some very skilled folks-for example a "boilermaker" who could put a radius into a 1/4" plate with the most basic tools. While some will not comment directly on their reasons for leaving, others just grew tired of the escalating level of internal politics.

One of the things that always amazed me about this group is the contrast between the cohesive manner that work was accomplished on the shop floor versus the nonsense that transpired at the post-workday dinner ritual. As soon as the raison de' etre vanished, the vitriol flowed-and flowed.

Now to zero in on the project. The undertaking was the restoration/remanufacture of the last member of a diesel locomotive model that ran in the region where the group makes it home. A very sophisticated undertaking-but I thought the group was up to the tasks. Almost every skilled trade you would in a real railroad shop was represented. Quality workmanship was a given, as was a good days' production. As of today, this project is nominally 15 years old and not even close to being "complete."

The first issue was of a technical nature. As this locomotive had been modified for other service, there was a huge engineering component.
I took ownership of that, solving all the technical problems-which entailed creation of a specification, development of many, many drawings and other supporting documentation. We even had some semblance of a budget, remembering that this was in essense a "prototype", with no supporting experience to go by.

It took me a while to realize that the very existence of this project created all types of fractiousness within the "management." At times, there was both financial and human capital to be exploited. More often than not, there was a shortage of one or the other. Right now, there is a nice chunk of change sitting in the bank committed to the project.

One of the comments that always seemed to come up is that "if only you guys were closer-I'd come down once in a while." Well, I live 2+ hours away...and the trip didn't stop some of the other
regulars...or myself.

While I have my own ideas on what motivates folks, I am looking to the erstwhile members of this board for guidance-or their own war stories.

Thanks



vze46wzm@verizon.net

> I'm fed up...discouraged...with both the
> abstract and concrete parts of operating
> within the railroad preservation community.
> I'm about to make a decision and drop the
> whole business...with the exception of
> reading this board. Very entertaining-and
> educational.

> First some background. The organization in
> question shall rename nameless. The internal
> and external issues are not worthy of being
> repeated. Per this board, they seem to be
> endemic to many volunteer museum groups.

> One thing is for sure. Many folks, whose
> skills complemented each other, have left.
> Some very skilled folks-for example a
> "boilermaker" who could put a
> radius into a 1/4" plate with the most
> basic tools. While some will not comment
> directly on their reasons for leaving,
> others just grew tired of the escalating
> level of internal politics.

> One of the things that always amazed me
> about this group is the contrast between the
> cohesive manner that work was accomplished
> on the shop floor versus the nonsense that
> transpired at the post-workday dinner
> ritual. As soon as the raison de' etre
> vanished, the vitriol flowed-and flowed.

> Now to zero in on the project. The
> undertaking was the
> restoration/remanufacture of the last member
> of a diesel locomotive model that ran in the
> region where the group makes it home. A very
> sophisticated undertaking-but I thought the
> group was up to the tasks. Almost every
> skilled trade you would in a real railroad
> shop was represented. Quality workmanship
> was a given, as was a good days' production.
> As of today, this project is nominally 15
> years old and not even close to being
> "complete."

> The first issue was of a technical nature.
> As this locomotive had been modified for
> other service, there was a huge engineering
> component.
> I took ownership of that, solving all the
> technical problems-which entailed creation
> of a specification, development of many,
> many drawings and other supporting
> documentation. We even had some semblance of
> a budget, remembering that this was in
> essense a "prototype", with no
> supporting experience to go by.

> It took me a while to realize that the very
> existence of this project created all types
> of fractiousness within the
> "management." At times, there was
> both financial and human capital to be
> exploited. More often than not, there was a
> shortage of one or the other. Right now,
> there is a nice chunk of change sitting in
> the bank committed to the project.

> One of the comments that always seemed to
> come up is that "if only you guys were
> closer-I'd come down once in a while."
> Well, I live 2+ hours away...and the trip
>Be sure to read the closing message on the St. Louis Steam Train website. We had a group that I believe could accomplish almost anything and now it has disbanded. We had very little internal strife. The bust-up was due to external problems. That message should appear in a couple of days.



j.nansen@worldnet.att.net

I checked out the StLSTA site. Very sad indeed. As I recall, a first class restoration done by a first-class crew.

I should note that some of what I am about to write about happened quite a long time ago-so the exact details are kind of hazy.

Of course, this opens up yet another can of worms, which would be the outside distractions.
When I first joined the group in question, it existed as a tenant to a for-profit rail operation. On the surface, it seemed like the perfect marriage. The railroad has the ability to operate items of museum-owned equipment, while the museum had a building to work in (on a limited basis) and storage space for their collection.

One summer, I volunteered to come up during the week and paint a boxcar. Given the museums' penchant for "secrecy", I was quite unprepared for what transpired during lunch that day. Two of the four railroad employees dressed me down for nearly an hour-recounting an entire list of alleged "sins" on the part of the museum. To this day, that experience still sticks in my mind. Except for one person, I didn't know the rest of these guys from Adam-nor did they know me. In fact, unknown to them ,that little display served to completely align my sympathies with the museum group.

To make the long story short, we were ultimately forced to build our own yard complex several miles away. This was no small undertaking. While the museum management was clever in obtaining labor for site prep and track material, the expense was a large jolt to the treasury. Of course, quite a period of time elapsed before any
meaningful restoration work would occur again.

So, the moral of this part of the story is that outside distractions were there from the very beginning. To put it nicely, the museum and the railroad had begun to outgrow each other.

vze46wzm@verizon.net

I left a RR museum where I had worked for a good many years becasue of politics, foolishness, and personalities. It was fun for a few years, but things started to change.

Dreams are a needed part of such an undertaking, but too many people there lived on Fantasy Island. This possiblly came from not having a life in the real world. Like doing something and then worriing about how to finance it. Where I am now, the oppposite is the rule.

My political suggestions are; don't elect people to a leadership positon unless they deserve it, don't leave any important directional decisions to those whose address includes Fantasy Island, and sit in on board meetings to make you feeling known. I had too much going on to be politically involved, so a spot was open for an illogical person to fill.

As far a the personality issues goes, you can't change others, only yourself and location. If you can't make a positive imact and change others by that in the process, and you can't live with them, leave. You're better off with your sanity than a locomotive or whatever piece of iron it is you are working on.

Ray

That final message on the Steam Train site has not been posted yet, 4/6/03. It should appear in a couple of days. It adds to the message about the retiring of the engine. Some interesting things hae occured. Wait a few days and look it up.


j.nansen@worldnet.att.net

Will do...thanks

> That final message on the Steam Train site
> has not been posted yet, 4/6/03. It should
> appear in a couple of days. It adds to the
> message about the retiring of the engine.
> Some interesting things hae occured. Wait a
> few days and look it up.


vze46wzm@verizon.net

At this point, I couldn't agree more. I only wish that at the onset of my involvement, I could have found a working crystal ball:-)

Thanks for your input.

> I left a RR museum where I had worked for a
> good many years becasue of politics,
> foolishness, and personalities. It was fun
> for a few years, but things started to
> change.

> Dreams are a needed part of such an
> undertaking, but too many people there lived
> on Fantasy Island. This possiblly came from
> not having a life in the real world. Like
> doing something and then worriing about how
> to finance it. Where I am now, the oppposite
> is the rule.

> My political suggestions are; don't elect
> people to a leadership positon unless they
> deserve it, don't leave any important
> directional decisions to those whose address
> includes Fantasy Island, and sit in on board
> meetings to make you feeling known. I had
> too much going on to be politically
> involved, so a spot was open for an
> illogical person to fill.

> As far a the personality issues goes, you
> can't change others, only yourself and
> location. If you can't make a positive imact
> and change others by that in the process,
> and you can't live with them, leave. You're
> better off with your sanity than a
> locomotive or whatever piece of iron it is
> you are working on.

> Ray


vze46wzm@verizon.net

The predominant message here seems to be... when the going gets rough with people, and you can't seem to stand it anymore, jump ship. While this is a way to preserve your sanity, it doesn't leave one very satisfied. In some ways, your heart is always there, and you might regret later that you did not try harder to fix things.

I support the political the recommendations made by Ray, but wonder what we are to do when there are situations where there is no clear "good" candidate for a political position. What may be worse is that the system is rigged and political players from fantasy island are going to get in, regardless. Hmmm. Perhaps this applies to our national political system as well as our philathropic clubs.

I am just saying that instead of bailing out, consider rocking the boat in all ways possible when the wacky captian seems to be heading for an iceberg. It probably won't tip over, and you might just get your hands on the oars.

> I left a RR museum where I had worked for a
> good many years becasue of politics,
> foolishness, and personalities. It was fun
> for a few years, but things started to
> change.

> Dreams are a needed part of such an
> undertaking, but too many people there lived
> on Fantasy Island. This possiblly came from
> not having a life in the real world. Like
> doing something and then worriing about how
> to finance it. Where I am now, the oppposite
> is the rule.

> My political suggestions are; don't elect
> people to a leadership positon unless they
> deserve it, don't leave any important
> directional decisions to those whose address
> includes Fantasy Island, and sit in on board
> meetings to make you feeling known. I had
> too much going on to be politically
> involved, so a spot was open for an
> illogical person to fill.

> As far a the personality issues goes, you
> can't change others, only yourself and
> location. If you can't make a positive imact
> and change others by that in the process,
> and you can't live with them, leave. You're
> better off with your sanity than a
> locomotive or whatever piece of iron it is
> you are working on.

> Ray