;-) Good to keep that in mine (whoops) mind.

TJ

> Don't sweat it TJ - us old codgers don't
> take anybody seriously who can't even spell
> his suggestions.

> Dave


Port Huron Museum

peremarquette@hotmail.com

> Don't sweat it TJ - us old codgers don't
> take anybody seriously who can't even spell
> his suggestions.

> Dave

Isn't that what the "preview message" feature is for? So you don't post mistakes.

I'm also confused,I'm 43 so I don't fall into the younger generation, and I'm not yet an old codger. Where do I fit into the scheme of things?

Just Train Crazy,

-Angie


Ladypardus@cs.com

> Don't sweat it TJ - us old codgers don't
> take anybody seriously who can't even spell
> his suggestions.

> Dave

Isn't that what the "preview message" feature is for? So you don't post mistakes.

I'm also confused,I'm 43 so I don't fall into the younger generation, and I'm not yet an old codger. Where do I fit into the scheme of things?
Just Train Crazy,

-Angie


Ladypardus@cs.com

> I'm also confused,I'm 43 so I don't fall
> into the younger generation, and I'm not yet
> an old codger. Where do I fit into the
> scheme of things?
> Just Train Crazy,

Where do you want to fit in?

Just now doing an ineffective job of figuring out if a young talented person is willing to work at it, and make the personal sacrifices necessary to begin to build a career.

With the greater baggage we haul around after 4 decades, it isn't as easy for us.

If you are willing to temporarily relocate to GA I might could find you a spot.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

I just wanted to say a couple things.
I am 42 years old, at 15, I was scraping and painting on T&P 610 to get her ready for the Freedom Train. They had her parked next to the cattle branding pens at the stockyards, so it took some intestinal fortitude to be around the place at all.
At 16, I discovered I could sweetalk myself and a buddy into the tower at the T&P hump in Fort Worth, and spent a good bit of additional time hanging out in the sandhouse with some old-timers. I don't think I could have acted like a brat and gotten away with these things.

One, the young people I have encountered in this business/hobby/whatever you want to call it have been some of the most mature young people I have met, some more mature than some of their elders.

Look at the young man heading up what looks to be a museum quality restoration of a wood combine, another learning everything they can while juggling work/school/taking sole care of elderly relatives, another at 27 who knows more about steam loke operation/maintenance/repair than I think I can possibly absorb, another who is quicky becoming a museum "boomer", trying to hang on in RR preservation despite the low pay those lucky few who get paid receive, this last one one of the deepest thinkers I have met in a while. Another, president of a railroad preservation organization trying to save some buildings, dealing with the city bureaucracy and TEA grants.

And not a single temper tantrum out of the bunch.

There is an old saying, "each one teach one" as a way to pass on knowledge. Well, I find this is a two way street, I learn something from the younger folks everytime I share what I know.

Two. Anyone who was at TRAIN/ARM knows which was the only "standing room only, if you were lucky enough to get in the room period" seminar was - the one on finding and keeping the younger folks in the field. We absolutely have to have these folks around if this is going to continue. The last folks who learned from the old heads of steam (retired railroad employees who worked on steam) are all getting a bit on in years themselves.

To take this one step further, when I see the family with small ones come to the front of our shop, I try to stop, go say hi, and see if those young'uns would like to have their picture taken in the cab. Alot of times, they remind me of a certain small boy back in Texas that never tired of looking up at a very large locomotive sitting in a park, wishing he could grow up and help make it go again. Besides, my back is about worn out, maybe, just maybe, one or two of these will come back and give me a hand in a few years.

Rudd, OCIT (Old Codger in Training)

Rudd@cogdellmedrala.com

Dave,

That's it, Rudd hit it right on the head, I'M AN OLD CODGER IN TRAINING! Now I know!

He's right about the young people in the railroad field, they're more mature and more responsible.Those aren't the ones that worry me. After herding kids around this year on several school field trips for my daughters' classes, I can honestly say that the great majority of the kids are either in need of new parents or a good swift kick in the butt. It isn't really the fault of most of the kids, it's that their parents have given them no appreciation of history or learning and have taught them no manners and no common sense.

On the other hand, we have a very bright 14 year old learning from the old hands at Whitewater Valley. Our youngest mechanic is in his early 20's and has probably forgotten more about our equipment than most people will ever know. Ryan is an astounding wealth of information and talent. He and others like him are the reason preservation will succeed.

Bless the parents that have given their children a thirst for knowledge and an appreciation of history. Their children are the future. Don't ask me what to do with the rest, I've been mulling it around for years, (part of those 4 decades of baggage you talked about, Dave)and I don't have any answers. (Well, yes, I do but I'm not going to air them publicly.)

-Angie

Ladypardus@cs.com

Well said!!!
Without the interest of youth, we have no reason to preserve the past.
At the Southeastern Railway Museum we see it daily in our youngest visitors that Thomas the tank has kindled a love for trains in young people that we each need to build on. The childrens love for trains is transfered to their mothers, many of whom admit that they never thought about trains until the child made them aware. This opens more opportunities for greater family involvement in preserving RR history.

rgraner@aol.com