Wasn't that one of the objectives in the "Leaders in Preservation" rebranding a couple of years ago, and doesn't the editor have some influence over the article mix through contact with interested authors? Many preservation topics get quite technical very quickly when put in article or clinic form, taking more time and effort than casual writing. People tend not to write them unless encouraged to do so because it is a considerable amount of extra work for folks who are already doing a lot of work.

PC

FB report from Steve Barry:

"FB report from Steve Barry:


Quote:

Well, one of those days.... The plan that the New Business Model committee put together for National Railway Historical Society during the past three months was voted down -- business as usual for NRHS, which has historically been adverse to change."


So much for the traditional gracious concession speech.

What's so gracious about knowing that your organization may fail because the measure you worked three months on didn't pass?

"What's so gracious about knowing that your organization may fail because the measure you worked three months on didn't pass?"


Unbelievable.

Will Steve Barry and the others who supported the NBM be stepping down from their respective leadership posts?

This is actually a good example of how timing can make even the most well intentioned plan go awry. The artificial "rush" to get the NBM enacted seemed to reek of impropriety. I think if the NRHS leadership thinks the organization needs an overhaul in structure and mission, they should include more input from the rank and file members, the ones they seemed contemptuous of.

The California Nevada Railway Historical Society many years ago decided not to accept any new members. They continued to hold social meetings. Now that the membership has dwindeled to a small number, they have been donating equipment they preserved to railway museums.

Perhaps this might be a pattern for NRHS.

"The California Nevada Railway Historical Society many years ago decided not to accept any new members. They continued to hold social meetings. Now that the membership has dwindeled to a small number, they have been donating equipment they preserved to railway museums.

Perhaps this might be a pattern for NRHS."


Since the NBM called for the ELIMINATION of members, new and existing, and it has been rejected, the answer is "not anymore".

Now what? I am glad that the New Business Model was voted down,
because it eliminated all members. What use is yet another elitist
organization that does not allow anyone to have a direct voice in its
functioning and policies? Why does anyone need yet another charity --
and one that is trying to start up in the current nasty, brutal economy?
This cruel economy has killed a lot of worthy social, fraternal, and
non-profit organizations, because few people now have the time and/or
money to give to anything but their own needs.

The poor dear ol' NRHS might have been able to avoid the inevitable
if, some years ago, it had enthusiastically reached out to young people
by using modern forms of communication, such as e-mail, FaceBook,
Twitter, Instagram, and the like, and by making them feel welcome
everywhere. Yes, RailCamp is great, but it is a drop in the bucket.

I await further developments with interest.

(FYI: Steve Barry said on FaceBook that the vote was 12-10 to reject the NBM.)

Margaret
Former Central Coast Chapter Secretary and 31-year NRHS member

Missing from this discussion is any realization of how the hobby is changing.

I'd argue that the number of true railfans has been decreasing for a long time. What remains steady or could even be increasing are the number of rail photography fans and rail videography fans. To the latter, railroads are just a subject to point their lenses at. That isn't to say they haven't developed an appreciation for railroads, but their primary reason for being here is something else entirely.

In those latter two groups is a growing epidemic of narcissism. They take photos and videos to literally race home and post them to Trainorders, Railpictures.net, or Youtube before somebody beats them to it -- not because what they captured is especially newsworthy, but because they are desperate for praise of any type. Some can't handle it when Railpictures.net rejects their photos, going so far as to create Facebook pages to complain. This is completely unhealthy, both on an individual basis, and for the future of the hobby as a whole.

My point here is pretty simple. The NRHS and many other organizations are doomed until the mindset is reformed from within. The me, me, me crowd racing to photograph the newest Heritage Unit headed their way will never become interested in railway preservation. We've got to show them there is more to this hobby than just self gratification. And by the way, this phenomenon isn't unique to younger railfans. The older veterans are just as prone to falling into the same trap.

Let me be the first (hopefully of many) to refute your argument. There are many many young people, myself included, who do not fall into your "rail photography/videography fans" category. Yes, we do like to go out and take videos of these things, and sometimes race home to put videos/photos up first. Sure, we like the recognition, there's no denying that. But to say that it's because we're "desperate for praise" and because our "primary reason for being here is something else entirely" - is, at least in my case, completely and entirely incorrect. Ever since I was a little boy, thanks to my grandfather (former Penn Central/Amtrak engineer) and parents, I've loved trains. That love of trains has never ever faded away. It's the reason I point a video camera at their direction - not just because of my "narcissistic" ways, as you claim. Additionally, I've donated hundreds of dollars over the past few years to various museums and preservation groups that interest me. So don't you dare start saying that us "rail photography/videography fans" are in your group, without adding - that not ALL of us are how you claim we are.

I will write not just on the NHRS, but on a more systemic problem. One which warrants our attention because I suspect it is key to our survival and sustainability. At this time what may kill the NRHS, and may kill other organisations in the field seems clear. My two points below and the following story outline these issues and some possible actions that might be taken to address the situation.
We wait for people to show up with an inexplicable intrinsic love for railways and trains instead of reaching out to our communities at large to find people with broader interests that have some application to railways.
We should all be appealing to people's broader interests and showing them how they apply to what we do as well. Entertain and educate the. With the story of how their lives are affected by the history of railways.
We are reaching inwardly to solve a problem that really relates to an external conflict: how railfans, railroad historians, ans railroad preservationists (who are in broader society generally lumped together) interact with their audience, and how we are perceived by that audience.
Any actions by an organization that do not take the entire public into consideration cuts that organisation off at the knees.
To relate a story: I spent the day with a group of non-railfan friends wandering around Shelburne Museum. We visited all of the sights there including the exceptionally preserved Rutland railroad station there. Each one of them relayed a story of a fascination with trains on some level and that of at least one other family member as well. The point is the people and interest are out there, especially, I find among my 25-30 year old peers. They just need to be enticed rather than excluded. I might add that many more potential friends exist among the do-it-yourselfers, the makers, the tinkerers, and collectors of oddities. They just have never had the opportunity to partake in the world we call railway preservation.

Stephen

All of the above may be true.

The biggest issue in any organization is to recruit new members. Some NRHS Chapters have recognized this and have a generational membership, but the bulk of the Chapters are skewed toward the sixty and up age bracket. And when the curious do show up to meetings, you are treated as an intruder who needs to be placed in the corner and not be heard from.

Some form of publicity is needed for the outside world to be made aware that the NRHS exists, it welcomes new members of all ages, there are programs that will interest them, and you'll actually be warmly welcomed. You can't continue to solicit the 80,000 railfans in the US and Canada who subscribe to rail oriented magazines and expect to grow. That market is already saturated with the message. How this is accomplished is up to the NRHS Officers and Board members. There are plenty of railfans out there, but they need to be solicited in a better fashion.