Good Morning Everybody.

Since IÂ’ve been involved with the project on and off for longer then IÂ’d care to admit, I figured IÂ’d take a few minutes to sit down and clear a few things up about Steamtown, get a few things out in the open and clear up a few mis-conceptions. IÂ’d first like to say that the concept of Steamtown is a noble one to say the least, and in Scranton there are some of the finest, most dedicated employees a railroad museum could hope to possess, however...

There are quite a few hurtles that need to be overcome for the place to succeed in drawing new visitors and getting others to come back time after time. You must first consider that Steamtown is essentially the Siberia of the NPS. Whether many will admit it or not, Steamtown was not wanted by the NPS to begin with. It was forced upon them, rightly or wrongly, by a local (now retired) congressman. To this day the park in Scranton is considered an anomaly, even a joke, in the Park Service hierarchy. A great deal of so called “Career Park Service” employees travel from park to park, staying at each one for different lengths of time, sometimes for years on end, sometimes for only months. Steamtown is not considered to be a choice assignment within the NPS system. To accept an assignment at Steamtown, a person is either looking to advance his or her career, or is a less than promising employee for whom other more desirable locations are not available. They are biding their time until something better, somewhere else, becomes available. On the other hand there is a dedicated core group of front line (and often local) employees that work year after year, enduring frequent layoff’s, less competitive salaries and general scorn from the so called “Career Park Service” folks. These are the people that give the tours, run the trains, make repairs and really are the driving force there. Because they show a real interest in steam trains, they are often ridiculed by their supervisors, those that have moved in from other parks, because of their love for the site. Indeed there is a general lack of interest, even an active dislike of railroading by many of those in a decision-making capacity at Steamtown. As an example, several years ago when Steamtown was constructing a road salt storage shed, several parts to and clearly marked DL&W 565 in canisters and on pallets, were bulldozed over an embankment. Very little consideration is given either to the visitor experience. Walk around the site, there are more signs telling you to get out by 5pm than there are signs to the train station or the bathrooms for that matter.

Many have discussed advertising for Steamtown. Yes, it is true that the PS is forbidden from advertising for itself. However, many parks have found ways to overcome this, through partnerships with other organizations. Steamtown had established a few of these, most notably the now-defunct Steamtown Volunteer association and the University of Scranton. These folks provided much needed advertising for the site, including commercials, billboards and high quality brochures. What happened? Due to personality conflicts the old Volunteer Association was dissolved and activities with the University of Scranton were drastically cut back. Interns from the university used to do such things as provide handcar rides for visitors, while the partnership coordinator helped bring about many of the special events at the park. Most of this is gone now, including many of the events. Folks this is a museum who had Thomas at the site once and refused to do it again because it was “Too Much Trouble”.

Steamtown is the first to cry poverty when people ask why isn’t this or that being done. This would be laughable if it weren’t so sad when you break down the numbers. Between grants, ticket receipts and its government handout the site takes in over $5,000,000 a year. Right off the bat nearly $800,000 a year goes to a poorly negotiated utility contract which was designed to keep a floundering local utility in business (Steamtown is now the sole customer of that utility). Approximately 70% of what’s left over goes to salaries. That’s right, well over $3,000,000 a year to pay its staff, a great deal of whom are “just passing through”. To make matters worse Steamtown has a tendency to “park” its ill-performing employees. That is supervisors who do not perform, instead of being dismissed, disciplined or given a reduced salary are given “front office jobs” retaining their full salary (often greater than 50 K per year) and have basically no responsibilities. In return, the front line employees who work the hardest day in and day out are often laid off to compensate for budget shortfalls. The Park Service also loves to have ample supervision. For example the 4-man security force consists of a supervisor supervising another supervisor supervising two employees. There are literally more supervisors than employees at Steamtown. While the ranks of supervisors have actually grown over the years, the ranks of front line employees have shrunk. There are only 4 people assigned to work in the loco shop, and 4 on the trains, however there are over a dozen secretarial/administrative positions.
So much talk has been given to returning all three of Steamtown’s locomotives to operation, yet there aren’t enough people to crew them. In fact the weekday “short” runs are frequently diesel powered as there just aren’t enough qualified employees to run the steamers (there used to be 9 train crew members, but as they’ve retired, their positions were moved elsewhere in the park).

The NPS unfortunately has a penchant for expensive toys, this also provides a drain on the park’s income. There is actually a 1 to 1 employee to computer ratio. There are over two dozen company cars and trucks. The 4-man police force has a cruiser AND an SUV. All this for a park that consists of two parking lots and a quarter mile dirt road. For these “roads” Steamtown has constructed a highway department grade road salt storage shed. If one were to tour the site’s “back” buildings, one could see dozens more computers, workstations, and other expensive trinkets, unused, in boxes. Recent expenditures include hundreds of new lockers replacing perfectly good existing ones and dozens of expensive toolboxes (at several thousand a pop) that the site got along just fine without for years. You can now walk through the back-shop and be treated to the sound of water pouring through the leaking roof onto brand new, half-empty toolboxes.

All of this leaves very little to maintain, restore and interpret the actual Steamtown subject matter, i.e. trains. Maintenance and operation of historic railroad equipment actually makes up about 18 % of the Steamtown budget.

Despite all that, Steamtown is still a noteworthy cause and a wonderful place to visit. What can one do to help? Well spread the word about the place, both good and bad, as education here is important. A whole sale change in management philosophy is needed if the site is to survive. The Park Service old-line thinking just doesn’t work there. The first reaction on the part of the folks running Steamtown is to blame the previous administration. Much can be said about the site’s former superintendent, good and bad, but it’s the NPS system that put him there and kept him there. The Steamtown mantra has been “Wait ‘till next year” for a decade now, and its sounding like a broken record. Each year less and less happens.

What can be done to change this, I donÂ’t know. ThatÂ’s just a few facts, one could go on for 20 pages or more, but this isnÂ’t the place. Usually IÂ’d shy away from writing something like this, but folks this is a National Park and it is, after all, yours too!

Reg Lewis


boredinnepa@yahoo.com

Reg,

You have made some excellent points here! Most people don't know that most Park sites get about
15% more oney to budget than their saleries.

And another point, there are three ways a site can be brought under NPS operation. The Congress can create a site after a recomondation by the NPS. Congress can create a site without the recomondation of the NPS (Such as Steamtown NHS) and the President car create a National Monument, With or without the consent of the NPS. But in all cases the NPS has to plan and run the new site.

So it's no wonder that some sites are less popular than others. The age of the Park site has a lot to do with how high up in popularity it is. Something 100 years old like Yosemite National Park is way up there. and you already know where Steamtown is!

Ted Miles

ted_miles@nps.gov

These are some interesting insights. More supervisors than workers? That sounds like an accurate depiction of railroading as I've known it, at least until this last job. One question: do rank-and-file Park Service workers have seniority and access to due process, or are they paid and assigned by the usual backstabbing and brownnosing process found in "at-will" employment?

And those pallets with parts marked DL&W 565... I hope they were retrieved, weren't they?

> Reg,

> You have made some excellent points here!
> Most people don't know that most Park sites
> get about
> 15% more oney to budget than their saleries.

> And another point, there are three ways a
> site can be brought under NPS operation. The
> Congress can create a site after a
> recomondation by the NPS. Congress can
> create a site without the recomondation of
> the NPS (Such as Steamtown NHS) and the
> President car create a National Monument,
> With or without the consent of the NPS. But
> in all cases the NPS has to plan and run the
> new site.

> So it's no wonder that some sites are less
> popular than others. The age of the Park
> site has a lot to do with how high up in
> popularity it is. Something 100 years old
> like Yosemite National Park is way up there.
> and you already know where Steamtown is!

> Ted Miles


ryarger@rypn.org

Overspending in unneccessary places? Indifferent management? Sounds like it would be a good Amtrak museum.

> Good Morning Everybody.

> Since IÂ’ve been involved with the project on
> and off for longer then IÂ’d care to admit, I
> figured IÂ’d take a few minutes to sit down
> and clear a few things up about Steamtown,
> get a few things out in the open and clear
> up a few mis-conceptions. IÂ’d first like to
> say that the concept of Steamtown is a noble
> one to say the least, and in Scranton there
> are some of the finest, most dedicated
> employees a railroad museum could hope to
> possess, however...

> There are quite a few hurtles that need to
> be overcome for the place to succeed in
> drawing new visitors and getting others to
> come back time after time. You must first
> consider that Steamtown is essentially the
> Siberia of the NPS. Whether many will admit
> it or not, Steamtown was not wanted by the
> NPS to begin with. It was forced upon them,
> rightly or wrongly, by a local (now retired)
> congressman. To this day the park in
> Scranton is considered an anomaly, even a
> joke, in the Park Service hierarchy. A great
> deal of so called “Career Park Service”
> employees travel from park to park, staying
> at each one for different lengths of time,
> sometimes for years on end, sometimes for
> only months. Steamtown is not considered to
> be a choice assignment within the NPS
> system. To accept an assignment at
> Steamtown, a person is either looking to
> advance his or her career, or is a less than
> promising employee for whom other more
> desirable locations are not available. They
> are biding their time until something
> better, somewhere else, becomes available.
> On the other hand there is a dedicated core
> group of front line (and often local)
> employees that work year after year,
> enduring frequent layoffÂ’s, less competitive
> salaries and general scorn from the so
> called “Career Park Service” folks. These
> are the people that give the tours, run the
> trains, make repairs and really are the
> driving force there. Because they show a
> real interest in steam trains, they are
> often ridiculed by their supervisors, those
> that have moved in from other parks, because
> of their love for the site. Indeed there is
> a general lack of interest, even an active
> dislike of railroading by many of those in a
> decision-making capacity at Steamtown. As an
> example, several years ago when Steamtown
> was constructing a road salt storage shed,
> several parts to and clearly marked DL&W
> 565 in canisters and on pallets, were
> bulldozed over an embankment. Very little
> consideration is given either to the visitor
> experience. Walk around the site, there are
> more signs telling you to get out by 5pm
> than there are signs to the train station or
> the bathrooms for that matter.

> Many have discussed advertising for
> Steamtown. Yes, it is true that the PS is
> forbidden from advertising for itself.
> However, many parks have found ways to
> overcome this, through partnerships with
> other organizations. Steamtown had
> established a few of these, most notably the
> now-defunct Steamtown Volunteer association
> and the University of Scranton. These folks
> provided much needed advertising for the
> site, including commercials, billboards and
> high quality brochures. What happened? Due
> to personality conflicts the old Volunteer
> Association was dissolved and activities
> with the University of Scranton were
> drastically cut back. Interns from the
> university used to do such things as provide
> handcar rides for visitors, while the
> partnership coordinator helped bring about
> many of the special events at the park. Most
> of this is gone now, including many of the
> events. Folks this is a museum who had
> Thomas at the site once and refused to do it
> again because it was “Too Much Trouble”.

> Steamtown is the first to cry poverty when
> people ask why isnÂ’t this or that being
> done. This would be laughable if it werenÂ’t
> so sad when you break down the numbers.
> Between grants, ticket receipts and its
> government handout the site takes in over
> $5,000,000 a year. Right off the bat nearly
> $800,000 a year goes to a poorly negotiated
> utility contract which was designed to keep
> a floundering local utility in business
> (Steamtown is now the sole customer of that
> utility). Approximately 70% of whatÂ’s left
> over goes to salaries. ThatÂ’s right, well
> over $3,000,000 a year to pay its staff, a
> great deal of whom are “just passing
> through”. To make matters worse Steamtown
> has a tendency to “park” its ill-performing
> employees. That is supervisors who do not
> perform, instead of being dismissed,
> disciplined or given a reduced salary are
> given “front office jobs” retaining their
> full salary (often greater than 50 K per
> year) and have basically no
> responsibilities. In return, the front line
> employees who work the hardest day in and
> day out are often laid off to compensate for
> budget shortfalls. The Park Service also
> loves to have ample supervision. For example
> the 4-man security force consists of a
> supervisor supervising another supervisor
> supervising two employees. There are
> literally more supervisors than employees at
> Steamtown. While the ranks of supervisors
> have actually grown over the years, the
> ranks of front line employees have shrunk.
> There are only 4 people assigned to work in
> the loco shop, and 4 on the trains, however
> there are over a dozen
> secretarial/administrative positions.
> So much talk has been given to returning all
> three of SteamtownÂ’s locomotives to
> operation, yet there arenÂ’t enough people to
> crew them. In fact the weekday “short” runs
> are frequently diesel powered as there just
> arenÂ’t enough qualified employees to run the
> steamers (there used to be 9 train crew
> members, but as theyÂ’ve retired, their
> positions were moved elsewhere in the park).

> The NPS unfortunately has a penchant for
> expensive toys, this also provides a drain
> on the parkÂ’s income. There is actually a 1
> to 1 employee to computer ratio. There are
> over two dozen company cars and trucks. The
> 4-man police force has a cruiser AND an SUV.
> All this for a park that consists of two
> parking lots and a quarter mile dirt road.
> For these “roads” Steamtown has constructed
> a highway department grade road salt storage
> shed. If one were to tour the site’s “back”
> buildings, one could see dozens more
> computers, workstations, and other expensive
> trinkets, unused, in boxes. Recent
> expenditures include hundreds of new lockers
> replacing perfectly good existing ones and
> dozens of expensive toolboxes (at several
> thousand a pop) that the site got along just
> fine without for years. You can now walk
> through the back-shop and be treated to the
> sound of water pouring through the leaking
> roof onto brand new, half-empty toolboxes.

> All of this leaves very little to maintain,
> restore and interpret the actual Steamtown
> subject matter, i.e. trains. Maintenance and
> operation of historic railroad equipment
> actually makes up about 18 % of the
> Steamtown budget.

> Despite all that, Steamtown is still a
> noteworthy cause and a wonderful place to
> visit. What can one do to help? Well spread
> the word about the place, both good and bad,
> as education here is important. A whole sale
> change in management philosophy is needed if
> the site is to survive. The Park Service
> old-line thinking just doesnÂ’t work there.
> The first reaction on the part of the folks
> running Steamtown is to blame the previous
> administration. Much can be said about the
> siteÂ’s former superintendent, good and bad,
> but itÂ’s the NPS system that put him there
> and kept him there. The Steamtown mantra has
> been “Wait ‘till next year” for a decade
> now, and its sounding like a broken record.
> Each year less and less happens.

> What can be done to change this, I donÂ’t
> know. ThatÂ’s just a few facts, one could go
> on for 20 pages or more, but this isnÂ’t the
> place. Usually IÂ’d shy away from writing
> something like this, but folks this is a
> National Park and it is, after all, yours
> too!

> Reg Lewis


pennengineer@trainorders.com

Urban legend has it that they are "somewhere down there and under that."

What's funny is I have heard three different viersions of who did it and why.

Rob

> And those pallets with parts marked DL&W
> 565... I hope they were retrieved, weren't
> they?


Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

>Steamtown is not considered to
> be a choice assignment within the NPS
> system.

Reg

This was a problem since day one. There are some very talented, dedicated and just absolutely superb NPS who LOVE Steamtown and give their all to the park. They want to be CAREER Steamtown folk. They need to be embraced.

These folks are my knights in shining armour up there.

The other side of the coin is an indifferent group (some rotating in and out and some long-term) who really just don't value the artifacts as they should. The #565 story is part of that chain.

There were many mistakes made early. The demolition of the buildings once used by Dickson Locomotive Works to make room for the visitors parking lot was a tremendously short-sighted affair. Although, a ranger new to the site did explain to me that Dickson never made mainline locomotives. Yah, huh?

Anyway, we can go over past nonsense till were out of Gibbons and done with all the hot wings.

I am more interested in the future of Steamtown and what it will take to acheive it's potential... and how we can get the NPS to address the site as a national treasure.

Rob


Ahead of the Torch
trains@robertjohndavis.com

>Due to personality conflicts the old Volunteer
> Association was dissolved

I don't know Reg Lewis (that I know of)and while I agree with a few of his thoughts, I disagree with that one.

I served on the SVA board and as an officer in 1996 & 1997 and quickly realized it was an unworkable situation.

First of all, there are two types of "friends" groups in the NPS. The first were NPS 7 groups. These are the folks that get involved as interpreters, etc. The second is NPS 32. which were fundraising groups and which can be used to do marketing.

The fatal flaw of the SVA was that it was both. Every division had a director and if nobody with enough business acumen/time/inclination to help run a multi-hundred thousand dollar a year business was available to serve (which was often the case) you got to pick from the rest -who were often well-meaning but unable to add meaningful insight to the board.

One candidate for secretary resigned after 10 MINUTES in disgust. Far from being an effective partner, the SVA was often adversarial and impractical. Board meetings-sometimes with my able assistance-were often shouting matches, tedious and unproductive. The park mgmt was EXTREMELY tolerant of this for a long time.

As it happened, we were perpetually short of "officer material" We were thrilled when a local professor of computer science agreed to became secretary. Lets call him "Napolean". At first he was eager and energetic, but soon a dark side emerged.

Criticism became nasty and he initiated protracted discussions of procedure. It was pretty clear he wanted to be king.

He conducted a vicious and libelous impeachment campaign against the president.

It was utterly unnecessary since the individual had grown tired and decided to leave after his term which was to end in a few months.

This had two effects. It emboldened "Napolean" and exacerbated the shortage of director/officer candidates.

Having completed one coup d'etat, Napolean set his sights on a bigger target, the Superintendent.

He penned a few missives to places like Washington and a review (think investigation) of things was commenced. The NPS realized the dual nature of the SVA was a problem and separated the volunteers from the bookstore/business operations.

The SVA was dissolved, and a new organization, THE SMA dedicated soley to running the bookstore was formed.

The damage? The park has taken a lot of hits about disbanding the SVA (not true since it was essentially reorganized into the SMA).

Well folks it NEEDED to be done. The NPS was fair and reasonable in what they did. This was not arbitrary, capricious or petty or a foolish waste of energy as I've seen it sometimes described.

So what is the epilogue? The former president no longer volunteers and "Napolean" has left as well, no doubt bringing his unique talents to other organizations. All should be glad Napolean was defeated at Waterloo. Other board members have left the park and a few more have passed away. Time marches on.

> I am more interested in the future of
> Steamtown and what it will take to acheive
> it's potential... and how we can get the NPS
> to address the site as a national treasure.

> Rob

Since, according to earlier postings on this thread, the site was "forced" on the NPS by a now-retired Representative (after considerable controversy, as I recall), perhaps the answer is to remove the park from the NPS and turn it over to another entity. For example, it could become a PA State Park, or a County Park (a la MOT), or a division of another Ry. Museum in PA, or even be "privatized". This could be difficult to arrange as the federal government never stops doing anything once they've started and a dependent constituency has been created, even if the "experiment" has "failed", as might persuasively be argued in this case.

btw, none of the behaviors cited as problems in the original post should be a surprise to anyone who has worked with a Federal Agency: this is just business as usual.

pnichol6@prodigy.net