http://www.wgal.com/news/21663848/detail.html

Its not getting any better...

God help all those organizations who are dependent on the state, any state. They're going to need it.

I've worked with members of the RRMofPA staff on research projects that depended on their archival material, and they deserve much, much better than this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to have a distant, hazy recollection that there was something afoot back when the RR Museum of PA was being set up, to scrap the collection for its cash value instead of spending the appropriated amount to start the museum. Whoever started that movement may yet get his wish.

No locomotive or railroad artifact is ever totally safe, period. Be prepared to support and contribute to the museum/archives/preservation group of your choice or you may see it and its collections disappear.

This is a more negative view than I generally post, but I'm not particularly sanguine about the fate of such so-called "frills" as railroad museums, the arts, or other things that make life more meaningful than the usual nuts and bolts.

Seriously guys, Kurt doesn't post much any more, but he was a regular at one time (unless like me, he is posting pseudononymously). Whether he stays or goes-life gets tough for him. I lived through far less drastic cuts at a certain "rocky" insurance company and the "survivors" get a huge increase in workload to go along with broken social bonds. He was a great help several years ago when I was doing some research and is a good egg. Godspeed.

As an aside, the issuance of severance payments of two weeks is disgusting. In most downsizings, the rule of thumb has been a week per year of employment, but that may not be true anymore. Keep this in mind when a politician promises to do anything for you-inevitably, it'll mean being low-balled, short-changed.

Living as close to D.C. as I do, I have several folks who literally cannot understand why I am reluctant to get a government job. They've always preached to me about the job security, the wonderful benefits, the "doing something for people" angle............

With all due respect to the wonderful folks I know who do wonderful government work--from Amtrak to library work to Customs to State Highway Department to police officer to firefighter............. now you see why.

I'm told by knowledgeable people that the only labor unions in the USA that are still experiencing growth are government-employee unions. You can read that many different ways, none of them seeming very good.

Let's stop complaining about how awful government is (many people on this board spend way to much time posting their political views) and deal with reality and try and do something about it. I for one plan on picking up a pen and writing my local PA representatives and senators and making my thoughts known about how I feel about the issue. Don’t send an e-mail, send a polite business letter making your case. And next election time vote your feelings on issues like this that really matter instead of the usual scare tactic issues many politicians run on. It may make no difference at all, but inaction and just complaining about it certainly won't.

Agreed. A hand-written letter, even a short one, is one thousand times more meaningful than an email.

Stephen

Gentlemen, said in a kindly manner. Speaking of "being realistic", maybe we should first look at what else has been cut and why.

I seem to recall vaguely hearing about some kind of a financial slowdown recently. They may have mentioned it on CNN and the financial network a time or two. Apparently the gravy train derailed a while back.

So, considering the Pennsylvania state budget and the severe lack of funds I presume they are struggling with, let's ask this. What elese was cut? How important is a railroad museum as compared to many of the other programs and social services they offere. Hey, don't get me wrong, I love Pennsy, and that museum is very important to me. But I'm guessing most folks would rather have more teachers than museum workers.

Given that, before you write a letter telling them what total idiots they are for cutting the staff, ask yourself whether you should write a letter thanking them for not shutting the place down completely instead! These are hard times and there are tough choices to be made. So along with being sad about what has happened, consider what could have happened instead and maybe be a bit grateful that things aren't even worse.

Personally I'd suggest something more along the lines of "I know times are tough, hard choices, etc, etc, and I hope that when the economy picks up you'll seriously consider increasing staff levels at this wonderful museum, sincereley Mr I've got a voter's registration card and I use it, your district, PA..."

But Bob,
It's so much more fun to rant, rave, and "bloviate"..............:)
Seriously, you raise a good point. A well written appeal is more likely to be remembered than yet another "threat" from another "lunatic fringe"

folks,

This kind of think has happened before at the museum. At least they have an excellent Friends of the Railroad Museum to keep things running.

But it is a sad fact that politicians will always cut history and culture before they cut say road construction. The road people have their power base and the museums do not!

Good luck to all the folks involved. I have been laid off from a museum job with no warning and it is pretty devistating!

Ted Miles

Hey Ted, roads are one of the FEW proper functions of government. Government was created to do those things that we as individuals cannot do ourselves and will benefit the entire population. Mundane stuff like national defense, courts, police, roads, bridges, etc. is really why government exists. But when otherwise intelligent people have been brainwashed to the point of thinking that a railroad museum is a legitimate function and maintaining a road isn't, well then we've entered a scary place that is devoid of all reason and sanity.

Government, maintain my roads, protect my property, enforce my contracts and keep me safe. Otherwise get out of my way!

"Let's stop complaining about how awful government is (many people on this board spend way to much time posting their political views) and deal with reality and try and do something about it. I for one plan on picking up a pen and writing my local PA representatives and senators and making my thoughts known about how I feel about the issue."


Unfortunately, your letter won't even be a gentle spring breeze running up against an F5 tornado of cash & interest group politics.

This is exactly the type of naivete I'm advocating against. I say this as one of those faceless cogs in the bureacracy, perched just high enough to have been disabused of those charming myths.

Google up "Vince Fumo" and "John Perzel".

Forget writing letters and work to create a commercially viable enterprise or privately funded charity that isn't dependent on the fickle forces of government.

Just the other night, right before this-we had a suggestion that the RRMPA should be obtaining a British locomotive. That's not "facing reality".

"But when otherwise intelligent people have been brainwashed to the point of thinking that a railroad museum is a legitimate function and maintaining a road isn't, well then we've entered a scary place that is devoid of all reason and sanity."

Working in the belly of the beast, I'm as much a believer in limited government as anyone else. However, I've really come to believe that when the government doesn't preserve the past and make it publicly available, we are in trouble. The vast majority of revolutions begin with the disposal of the past. Without the barometer of history, the populace is subject to the whim of any persuasive orator. It is far more in line with "promoting the general welfare" than roads. Lets keep in mind, railroads were really destroyed when we bought the "public purpose" argument of the interstate highway system in the 1950's and one form of transportation was left to maintain (and pay taxes) on its right of way, while the other had it provided by the public.

Gentlemen, said in a kindly manner. Speaking of "being realistic", maybe we should first look at what else has been cut and why.

And in keeping with Nicolas Nassim Taleb's injunctions on "silent evidence" -what was not cut. Welfare (both the individual and corporate), money to my alma mater- Penn State, SCHIP,etc. The cuts came in 10 departments and the plurality came from PHMC.

I received the following from the official PRRT&HS e-newsletter moments ago:

"After eighteen years at the Museum, the last eleven as Archivist, Kurt Bell has accepted an Archivist position in the Division of Archives & Manuscripts, Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg. His last day at the Museum will be Friday, December 4, and his first day in Harrisburg is slated for Monday, December 7. Recent staffing cuts caused by the state budget shortfall have made his reassignment necessary. Kurt says there is never a good time to leave, and many things remain undone at the Museum that requires ongoing support and encouragement from everyone."

I understand that David Dunn, the Museum's Director, took a position "up stairs" in the department at Harrisburg a few months ago.

This tends to be another problem with government-run institutions like this: Many, many times, either through personal advancement or pressure from within, administrators who develop particularly adept expertise at their location (Kurt Bell was a born rail enthusiast, for example) move on or up to other locations where they are perfectly adequate, but leave the old place (a rail museum, in our case) at the mercy of a new hire or outsider, and the training curve begins all over again ("Pittsburgh and Lake Erie, not Philadelphia & Lake Erie--and it's Pittsburg & Shawmut, don't ask why...."). Does anyone remember that John Latschar, the controversial Gettysburg National Park administrator who just resigned from the NPS last month, got his early experience with Steamtown NPS?

As much as talented administration with experience and fiduciary knowledge is more important than the ability to distinguish a GP9 from a GP7, we need room for both.

Bob's remarks are indeed a good point. Perhaps we should also ask those who were in the leadership at RRMPA what they did or did not do to prevent this situation from developing? The government agency I work for actually started austerity planning at the very beginning of the downturn. They cut service hours, modified work schedules to keep everyone working while avoiding unnecessary shift differential pay, left nonessential job vacancies unfilled and delayed certain non-essential equipment upgrades. That money was then moved to payroll.

That directly translated into our staff keeping their jobs while other City of Tucson and Pima County departments that did not readjust to the new reality were laying off hundreds of workers. Arizona Department of Transportation has laid off over 400 employees and just announced the closure of 12 Motor Vehicle Division offices and more than half of the rest areas in the state. If they are required to make additional cuts, all rest areas will be closed. Some of the Phoenix area municipalities are now laying off police and fire employees, as they can't cut education anymore without causing an implosion there. City of Tucson laid off 500 educational employees-about 40 administrative staff and 460 teachers (essentially every teacher hired in the last five years).

Bottom line is that everyone is suffering and this is not the time to add pressure to the politicians. History preservation is indeed important, but pushing that at the cost of essential services (health, education, welfare) at this time might be the wrong action to take. People aren't going to be as sympathetic to museums or other non-essential government programs right now and we don't need any more enemies than we already have. Memories last a long time in the world of local and state politics.

I should also mention that the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum (owned and operated by Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc.) has had to take significant cuts. We had to eliminate the Executive Director's position and now have a part time manager overseeing limited operations of the museum. The space occupied by SATM (the old SP Records Building) is rented from the City of Tucson and due to financial problems, SATM has recently gotten into arrears on the payment. There had been some hope that the City might be agreeable to working out a plan to make payments on the arrears and work out a more practical rental charge. However, their real estate arm worked a deal for a local entrepreneur to occupy other space in the old Southern Pacific depot and that created a firestorm amongst the other renters and local citizenry. If the situation does not improve quickly, we may have to close the museum. The Street Railway Division and Motor Bus Division are doing well financially, given the hard times but cannot support the Museum Division as well. The next few weeks and months will determine the fate of the museum.