I was paging through some of my old ARM convention notes and found this item of interest--although the information was obtained in 1997, the intepretive elements impacting railway museum audiences is still very much relevant today. It is based on Steamtown's interpretation program seven years ago, so some of the details may be dated. I hope you will find it of some use:

DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE INTERPRETIVE PLAN—Glenn Smith, Interpretive Specialist
Association of Railway Museums Mid-Atlantic Conference, Ray Sauvey, Steamtown Institute
Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, PA 4/26/97

Ray Sauvey, Steamtown Institute...

A. VISITORS
• Interpretation—historically was done by curator or educator of a museum; they would take their research, develop a label insofar as what the curator wanted you to know ("providing info") and put it out—this "traditional" approach held true until about 15 years ago.
• New revolution in interpretation made possible by Freeman Tillman (1950s)—Tillman looked at audience as a basis for interpretation via his "6 points."
• Modern thinking in last ten years:

- What is the audience's expectation?

- What do they want to learn?

( overall, this approach is more effective for a visitor)
• Research forms the basis for interpretation (focus groups are assembled for what visitors want and need—visitor tells us and their needs are combined with our agenda).
• One cannot make any assumptions about visitors—they are all different.
• Most visitors are NOT railfans—total percentage of buff visitation ranges from 5-10% of total visitors at any given railroad museum.
• Railroads are in the American psyche, but today's visitors have NO real knowledge of the subject—presents new interpretative challenges to today's audiences (culturally, something has been lost—the "nuts and bolts"language of railroad artifacts are common knowledge to a "buff" working as a docent, but not to the average visitor—i.e. "Sir, could you please show me where the steering wheel is on this locomotive?).
• Visitors do have a natural curiosity—they are in your railroad museum spending their leisure dollars because they want to.
• Although men are traditionally the wage earners, women usually make the final decision where the family goes on their vacation—NOT just a male thing.
• People access railroad museums because they are motivated by a train ride—many museums that have been traditionally "static" have initiated excursions as a part of their marketing packages.
• People's primary motivation to visit a railroad museum is not necessarily because they "want to learn about railroad history"—we do, but they may not.
• Visitors want to go to the gift shop—build that into your planning—moreover, the gift shop can be incorporated into interpretation.

B. PLANNING
• Word of mouth is the most effective form of publicity—if visitors like what they see, they will tell 7 others; if they don't like what they see, they will tell 21 others—they get positive word of mouth via a good product: this can be done through interpretation (the product you deliver to visitors MAKES or BREAKS the marketing plan!)
• People want to be talked to—they liked to be thanked, have easy parking access, etc.

C. INTERPRETIVE PLAN
• Museums have an agenda of their own—it should evolve around the site's MISSION STATEMENT—blend it with needs and desires of visitors.
• Retired railroaders are often "loose cannons", but if utilized correctly via "channeling," they can enhance your delivery of service—visitors love railroad stories told by the railroaders themselves!
• History of Steamtown: Began as a private foundation in Vermont in 1960s, then became a unit of the National Park Service in 1986 (they developed an interpretive concept—A NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE).
• The site and the collection is not as important as what is done with it—this compensates for a weak site—primary resource is what they did with it.
• Steamtown's concept—an "operating engineering system"—essentially a bunch of separate components with an integrated specialized use that produces a service (this did not occur seamlessly)—visitors are offered a holistic experience: train excursion, exhibit component and a backshop component—placing the site into context is a practical component of designing an interpretive focus.
• The 9 anthracite railroads of Pennsylvania are utilized to interpret railroading on a national scope—interpretation was designed around the practicalities of the collection (i.e. utilizing the Union Pacific "Big Boy" locomotive presents a formidable challenge!).
• In doing interpretation, how does one overcome the "male" gender stereotype of railroading as a man's sphere, with a diverse audience of visitors? TELL UNIVERSAL STORIES/THEMES and build railroads into them.
• Museums need to obtain docent volunteers to deliver programs.
• PROVIDE TRAINING—Docents may be afraid to answer visitor questions without specialized training—National Railway Museum, Green Bay, WI offers an 8-week course on general railroad history—2 hours/wk yields a turnout of 3-5 docents per each session—give docents background information to provide an adequate background comfort level.

Glenn Smith, SNHS...

A. DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE INTERPRETIVE PLAN
• Based on a 5-7 year long-range interpretive plan, and supported by annual interpretive plans (steps and goals to meet long-range development plan)—complies with NPS "Standards for Interpretation."
• Interpretation is constantly evolving.
• Look at your site—why do we do interpretation?
• Look at your museum's mission statement (the purpose of the site) and ask:

- What is the significance? (what do you want people to know—Steamtown vs. other NPS sites, its more ambiguous because it is more collections-oriented than historic site-oriented).

- Do you send visitors away with an understanding of the site?

- Do you docents deal with the "tangibles"—the larger thematic concepts and intangibles, as well.

B. INTERPRETIVE PROCESS: WHAT IS INTERPRETATION?
• It is knowledge of resources (i.e. railroads, locomotives).
• It is knowledge of audience (i.e. marketing, focus groups, questions and answers).
• It is knowledge of appropriate techniques (i.e. docents who use diction, rate, tone on their tours).
• All of the above elements are examples of interpretive opportunities or outcomes.
• Resources can include:

- Intangibles (your concepts);

- Tangibles (things—what it is that you're talking about)
• Facilitate connections between interests of the visitor and the purpose of the site.
• Foster a sense of STEWARDSHIP—the audience always seeks something of value—they must first value the resource before they can accept it ("your continued support helps keep the memory of steam railroading alive for future generations").
• Resources may be linked through the idea of "Universal Concepts"—visitors MUST go away with this concept—they must grasp the BIGGER STORY.
• An effective tool to achieve this goal is by addressing different story "elements":

- Humans vs. humans (robber barons)

- Human vs. nature (locomotives crossing over mountains)

- Human vs. himself (overcoming physical and mental strain/adversity of laying track or firing a 200-ton steam locomotive up a stiff gradient)
• By delving into these "stories", it creates a BETTER OPPORTUNITY for visitors to grasp the "concepts."
• Develop a compelling story—tell a story—all visitors love stories—find the commonality that holds the story together (i.e. conflict development in a story might include "humans struggle with adversity," i.e. Wilbur Wright had to overcome the obstacle of being crippled and channeled his energy into developing an airplane with his brother, Orville—the universal concept is struggle, which results in the telling of a "compelling" story.)
• If visitors like the story, they will come back and want to hear more stories!
• Themes, goals and objects are very important—goals at SNHS are set even for individual programs and tours—i.e. visitors will be able to name three pieces of rolling stock by the tour's conclusion.
• Interpretive development:

- Do goals and objectives first;

- Struggle with a theme (can be hard to do)—it ties it all together—a complete sentence triggers meaning in the visitor—a tangible link to the intangible—intangible is the universal concept.
• Some docents may not be competent at doing interpretation.
• The objective is to provoke visitors to learn—instill a sense of stewardship—by so doing, they may become donors or volunteers—if this occurs, you've been effective!
• Work to "preserve the resource"—convince visitors that they want the site to be bought into by future generations—set into place a sense of stewardship.
• Three of the five themes at Steamtown:

- To provide a unique live experience;

- To show the role that steam locomotives played in the development of American history;

- To illustrate the role of the people who worked on the railroad (traditional focus has been on technology—recently SNHS refocused on social history, via "hidden stories—what was it like for the fireman, engineer, porter, female telegraph operator, American Indian—TELL STORIES—give names and make it PERSONAL—personify the experience and place it in the context of history—focus on the people, not just the nuts and bolts.)

C. STAFF & VOLUNTEER TRAINING
• Volunteers must be certified by the NPS, and are subject to the same rigorous training as staff (they must submit a videotape through a screening process)—due to large numbers of train crew docents, a "volunteer freeze" has been recently placed in effect.
• Does your organization drive your volunteers, or do your volunteers drive your organization?
• Once desired levels have been achieved, additional training for volunteers is optional.
• "Seasonal" rangers (or "90 day wonders") receive "101" basic training.
• Steamtown staff: 80 employees TOTAL

- Park Superintendent;

- Curator;

- Exhibits Technician;

- Historian (vacant);

- Interpretive Specialist (or educator);

- Clerical support (?)

- 6 temporary rangers;

- 4 permanent rangers;

- 3-4 seasonal rangers;

- 6 security;

- 60% of staff is maintenance (i.e. backshop personnel, four equipment restoration specialists, a master mechanic/shop supervisor, restoration shop foreman, roundhouse foreman, grounds maintenance).

Notes by Kurt Bell
Program Coordinator, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
4/26/97

Kurt,

That was a great talk I wish I had been there to hear it!

Does your library at RR MUseum of PA have the Model Railroad Craftsman for 1968?

ted_miles@nps.gov

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your kind remarks in the post above; I'm greatly humbled ;-)

We no longer have RMC as we clipped prototype articles for our reference files sometime ago and discarded the rest, since they were doorstop donations and never accessioned. However, I believe the NMRA's Kalmbach Library in Chattanooga and the TCA Library at Strasburg may have the RMC issues you are looking for.

all the best,
Kurt Bell

> Kurt,

> That was a great talk I wish I had been
> there to hear it!

> Does your library at RR MUseum of PA have
> the Model Railroad Craftsman for 1968?

> Does your library at RR MUseum of PA have
> the Model Railroad Craftsman for 1968?

Maybe the RRMPa doesn't, but the Maryland Rail Heritage Library at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum does. What are you seeking?


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

That, my friend, is a classic...and right on the money! Who hasn't received that type of contribution? (No documention...even down to no idea where it came from or who dropped it off.) The term will be forever in my vocabulary. Thanks for then enlightenment...not to mention the comprehensive observation tour the other day. "rrmuseumpa" is first class all the way.

sfreer@tvrail.com

Thanks, Steve. It was a pleasure to meet the TVRM guys this past Sunday and I'm always glad to help with museology stuff wherever possible!

all the best,
Kurt Bell
RR Museum of PA

> That, my friend, is a classic...and right on
> the money! Who hasn't received that type of
> contribution? (No documention...even down to
> no idea where it came from or who dropped it
> off.) The term will be forever in my
> vocabulary. Thanks for then
> enlightenment...not to mention the
> comprehensive observation tour the other
> day. "rrmuseumpa" is first class
> all the way.

One of our previous managers used to threaten to get one of those signs used at factories and warehouses that say, "All vehicles subject to search upon leaving," and change the last word to "arrival." You can wind up with donations that require calling a hazardous-materials outfit to get rid of, if you're not prepared to explain politely but definitely to well-meaning friends that you don't need 55 gallons of almost-new lemon-yellow paint. Sometimes you need fences and gates to keep stuff out as well as in.

- Aarne Frobom

FYI: Ella Rayborn used Aarne's excellent "The McRailroad Museum" opinion article (TRAINS September 1989) as reference during TVRM's recent "World Tour" visit to Steamtown. It is still applicable today. I've taken liberty to OCR scan the article. Text is as follows:

The McRailroad museum

RECENTLY the Big Boy restaurant chain agonized
over abandoning its Big Boy mascot as being too fat to be fashionable. The plump Big Boy statues are still outside many of the restaurants, which is unfortunate for the railroad-museum business. For the surplus fiberglass figures could become the emblem of another chain spreading across the country: the generic railroad museum. These institutions are as alike as that cousin to Big Boy, McDonald's restaurants. The Big Boy could have his red-and-white checked overalls repainted into pinstripes, and could be made to hold up a long-necked oil can instead of a double-deck burger.
• Is there a McRailroad museum in your town?
Here's how to tell:
• It's a yard of equipment, arranged in no particular pattern, with a building or box car full of displays.
Some or all of these items will be there:
•An EMD F unit or Aico Sl, less traction motors or engine, from a railroad that did not run through the museum's territory
• Lackawanna M.U. cars
• A fireless steam engine from a nearby factory
• A Plymouth four-wheel switcher, with stripped gears
• Chicago L cars
• A Pennsylvania GG1
• A Toronto PCC streetcar
•A heavyweight Pullman, with insufficient interior hardware and linen to assemble even one section
•A camp car made from an old Pullman or troop
sleeper
• A Fairmont car on a 10-foot length of track
• Many, many cabooses, with more due next week.

The box car or depot will contain:
• A collection of brakeman's lanterns, uniform buttons, spikes, date nails, timetables, insulators, or depot-platform paving bricks
• A steam locomotive bell, whistle, or headlight
• One each crossbuck, order hoop, telegraph key, semaphore head, station sign, baggage wagon, and book of dispatcher's train sheets.

There is likely to be one of almost anything else, from a collection of turn-of-the-century wedding dresses to a 1952 Nash. There is a railroad museum with a German V-l buzz bomb on display next to the 2-8-0's, so anything is possible. But there are some things that you
won't find at the generic railroad museum.

You won't find an average day coach. The museum may have the railroad president's business car, but it won't have a coach in presentable shape. Thousands of people left the depot on these cars over the years, but if
examples are on the property at all, the interiors are stripped or have badly stained Amtrak blue-and-purple seats. Upholstery material does cost money these days.

There will be no explanation of who shipped what on local railroads. There won't be a map showing tourists or local visitors how the lines relate to the geography of the area. There won't be anything telling what the railroad is or what it does.

There will be freight cars, but which freight cars will be determined by what the carriers were willing to part with for free, not cars that tell the story of freight haulage in the area. There will be one hopelessly odd
freight car, like a pickle vat car or wine tank car that one now-deceased museum director took a liking to.

No one will say what it was like to work on the railroad. There will be engines and cabooses, but no one to tell what it was like to fire a steam engine over a hilly railroad. No one will tell what went on in the caboose; the Pullman won't have any explanation of who
the porters were, and why, and what their life was like.

What can you do if you've got a generic railroad museum on your hands? The easiest way to avoid becoming a link in the chain of McRailroad museums is not to start one in the first place. In 1989 >any year can be substituted in 1989<, is a
transportation planner for the
State of Michigan and director of
a volunteer museum society. He
lives in East Lansing, Mich,, with
several tons of machinery—three
bicycles and a 64-seat coach.

TVRM World Tour Photos
sfreer@tvrail.com

continued.....

What can you do if you've got a generic railroad
museum on your hands? The easiest way to avoid be
coming a link in the chain of McRailroad museums is not to start one in the first place. In 1989 >insert any year here in 1989<, is a
transportation planner for the
State of Michigan and director of
a volunteer museum society. He
lives in East Lansing, Mich,, with
several tons of machinery—three
bicycles and a 64-seat coach.

TVRM World Tour Photos
sfreer@tvrail.com

This will be my last attempt to post "Part 2" of the text...

What can you do if you've got a generic railroad
museum on your hands? The easiest way to avoid be
coming a link in the chain of McRailroad museums is not to start one in the first place. Inp488&; anyone considering starting a railroad museum needs to ask if there are enough of the right artifacts remaining to coherently tell the story of some part of railroading. If not,then any new institution won't be an educational device, but will be a field full of unrelated hardware for
the amusement of some railfans and no one else.

If it's too late, and the L cars are already on the property, you may be able to salvage the situation by concentrating on the parts of the "collection" that seem related, and unhesitatingly dumping the rest. And even
badly mismatched stuff can be made more meaningful by explaining it to visitors. This doesn't just mean hanging labels on the cars. It means deciding what message you want visitors to walk away with, and then drawing on your talents as teacher, historian, and entertainer to get the message across.

This is how a real museum begins. It isn't easy, but if you succeed, it means you're no longer a generic railroad museum and won't need the revolving statue of the plump boy holding the oil can.
—AARNE H. FROBOM.

AARNE H. FROBOM, 36, is a
transportation planner for the
State of Michigan and director of
a volunteer museum society. He
lives in East Lansing, Mich,, with
several tons of machinery—three
bicycles and a 64-seat coach.

TVRM World Tour Photos
sfreer@tvrail.com

> AARNE H. FROBOM, 36, is a
> transportation planner for the
> State of Michigan and director of
> a volunteer museum society. He
> lives in East Lansing, Mich,, with
> several tons of machinery—three
> bicycles and a 64-seat coach.

Hey Aarne, didn't your coach eventually go to Harold Frye?

TJ


tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

"Hey Aarne, didn't your coach eventually go
> to Harold Frye?"

Yeah, and he got it running a lot faster than I would have. Ride it on the Bluewater Chapter excursions in Michigan's Thumb this summer.

Glad to see this denunciation is still an inspiration to some, although I should probably point out that the copyright to it is held by Trains Magazine.

I'm not 36 anymore like the piece says, and I've learned that the Toronto PCC I saw sitting in the slag at Sloss Furnace on the southern museum tour with Irv and Steve so many years ago was originally a Birmingham car. So none of these rules are hard and fast. Especially the one about business cars, since there's now one sitting next the 1225 in the shed.

- Aarne Frobom

Steamtown National Historic Site, Radisson Lackawanna Hotel, Tunkhannock Viaduct, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg Rail Road, B&O Railroad Museum, John W. Brown "Liberty Ship"*

*The John W. Brown is one of two preserved & operating WWII Liberty Ships. They have similar goals and challenges as a fully operational non-profit museum....and a TVRM'er also serves as an active volunteer. (Quite a commute from Chattanooga to Baltimore.)

[url=http://tvrail.com/index.php?module=photoalbum&PHPWS_AlbumManager_op=view&PHPWS_MAN_ITEMS[]=2]More TVRM World Tour Photos[/url]
sfreer@tvrail.com

> Hey Aarne, didn't your coach eventually go
> to Harold Frye?

> TJ

Aarne's coach, I believe ex CNR 5226, is with the Frye collection at Bluewater, NRHS in Saginaw, MI. But his tonnage is not that much reduced, as he now has a 1961 black Lincoln four-door, with turquoise plastic upholstery!

Steve Zuiderveen



SZuidervee@aol.com