Or the "secret society" idea; which would work IF you know who you are dealing with and how to reach them.

I would hope that this "fail" will serve as a lesson to various within the T1 organization to pursue more conventional and accepted means of promoting their cause.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

I'm not too bothered. That patch can occupy a "place of (dis?)honor" right next to my PRR 1361 belt buckles...... (now, where are my hunks from PRR 60 and LNER 4472?)

Speaking of using real names vs. phony ones I saw a 30 minute piece on the Discovery (?) channel several nights ago which showed how several new firms have gone into the business of selling the service of providing real identities to internet phony monikers.

For a relatively modest charge ( I think it was $ 50/name) they'll trace the users name, address, phone number(s) ( including cell phone(s), DOB, and a bunch of other personal data.

Bottom line I took away was the days of anonymity are quickly ending.

On balance I think its a good thing especially on forums such as this. If you're not willing to put your name on it...it's not worth posting.

FYI, there are only 3 on here that I intend to spend the $ 50 on.

Ross Rowland

What for?

AFAIAAO, he did nothing wrong on this forum.



Which actions? One guy said he received a phone call and a patch, another guy presented a patch, too.

We on the other side of the pond have a saying that goes "making an elephant out of a mosquito". And this is what I feel is being done here. Not the most professional start of the trust, may be. Yet a first step (which is much more than some of us ever did) and given time they hopefully will get over their teething troubles.

If I would have been "harrassed" by a simple phone call from a group in its beginnings, I would just have asked the guy his number and called him back if and when I had leisure time and the nerve, but I'd surely not made a big thing of it in an internet forum.

Now can we please stop derailing? I'd rather be interested why the outfit of the website changed for the old design. And wait for my anonymous patch.

Mike

Being an apologist for stupidity and chutzpah is one matter.

Being an apologist for cyber stalking, renegade actions of what appears to be no management controls of members/officers of the alleged group doesn't get to the core issue: on this side of the pond you get one chance to perform a proper solicitation for funds no matter what the cause is. If you fail with this type of sophomoric behavior, your cause is finished.

Did the A1 Trust act in this manner at the starting gate? I think not.

And if this is their best foot forward, they have attached the scarlet letter to not only themselves, but also their confederates and alleged vendors too.

Oh, it wasn't THAT big of a deal, I just thought it was silly/ridiculous/somewhat creepy, especially when the caller was not interested in hiring me to perform legal services in exchange for payment. I'm pretty sure he found me through the Utah State Bar's online directory. Had he shot me a PM and asked if he could call me, or sent me his number, I'd be fine with it, though probably wouldn't have called. I'm not that interested.

Unprofessional? A tad. Wrongheaded approach? Definitely. Will the group learn from this? Unknown. Regardless, Mr. Ellsworth is a real gentleman and has more than apologized to me for the actions of the rogue member.

Honestly, if anything, this whole episode exhibits the lost art of communication. I keep a box of "correspondence cards" in my desks at home and at work, and a few in my briefcase. They are one-sided 4x6 inch cards with my name printed at the top. I can jot a quick note, a thank you, or anything and drop it in the mail. According to my printer, I must be one of the last people in the world who buy these things. The point is that communication in preservation is key, also how you go about communicating is key. Had the patch mailer sent a note with "Hey, sorry I bothered you a work, here's a patch" or something similar, it wouldn't have come across as badly.

I doubt any malice was meant by this person's actions. Enthusiasm sometimes trumps common sense. Let us just be glad they did this to me and Mr. Mitchell, and not with someone who actually matters. Consider this episode a lesson hopefully learned, and see what the T1 "Trust" group's progress is in a few months.

Wanted to report that I had an informative telephone conversation last evening with Dr. Brad Noble the driving force behind the PRR T1 effort. He outlined their game plan and I found it to be realistic and plausible.

Brad is well aware that they have a long, multi million dollar road ahead of them and that there's a good chance that they'll never get to the goal posts.

All things said I'm confident that it is a legit effort and I wish them every success.

Ross Rowland

It seems to me that this is no longer preservation related, and therefore is moved to Railfanning. Please continue to argue about this groups potential success or failure at will.

Ugh.

Why is it always the same posters who come into a topic to contribute nothing but scathing cynicism and negativity? This organization is just getting started, yet it seems like they all expect the utmost perfection right off the bat, and in not finding it, proceed to damn their efforts to failure!

I'm not saying the T1 Trust hasn't had a few missteps, but geez, give them some time to recover and show some progress before you shame and demoralize them into obscurity!

Thanks Doug. I'm still not clear on what aspect of this is preservation related in the first place. Perhaps it is keeping an eye on a project that could potentially drain funds away from real preservation work? Anyway, looks like maybe a better topic for Popular Mechanics than Railway Preservation News.

ETA
Real name withheld because its not a requirement to provide it here...