If lunch is going to be provided, make sure to get the word out in advance – perhaps by e-mail - so volunteers know they won’t have to brown bag or stop at a deli on their way to the museum. This is particularly important for those whose volunteer work usually isn’t at the museum’s main campus and won’t necessarily hear a verbal announcement.

Volunteer banquets are a nice way of rewarding the volunteer’s long-suffering significant other. Make the meal worth the trip for him or her. If the volunteer’s meal is free, the spouse’s meal should be free too.

Hats, tee shirts and golf shirts with the museum logo? Maybe others have too many, but I don’t. They’re cheap publicity, and ought to be spread around lavishly - either free or at the museum's actual cost. Work gloves and museum-arranged deals on sturdy footwear would be appreciated too.

A salient question is how much the museum ought to spend on volunteer appreciation. These guys and gals are doing work that would cost the museum $10 to $40 per hour or more if they were employees. I’ll start the discussion by suggesting it wouldn’t too far out of line to have a annual budget for volunteer appreciation of $1.00 per volunteer-hour, based on the previous year's timecards. (You ARE keeping track of their time, aren't you?) The budget wouldn't be spent proportionately - the guy who put in 1,000 hours last year won't get a kilobuck in bennies - but that would be a big enough pot of money to be certain everybody feels appreciated.

/s/ Larry
Lawrence G. Lovejoy, P.E.

Some of the old heads may throw cold water on this, but I'll give it a shot.

Whether we care to admit it or not, we are, to some extent, "railfans" (shudder; images of foamers, etc). What experiences can we provide that volunteers would enjoy? Field trips, excursions, etc.

Also, how many of your volunteers might like some throttle time? Yes, do it under supervision, don't use too much fuel, be safe...but if your first cab ride/throttle time led you to this point in your life in rail preservation, why not pay it forward. In fact, take a page from the aviation community, which offers "Discovery flights" (some rail preservation entities offer a "your hand at the throttle" experience for $)-which, done correctly, can be logged as time spent towards eventually qualifying for a pilot's license. Do something similar for your volunteers.

I'd be awfully careful about providing overnight accommodations for volunteers. I know of one museum that allowed members to stay on the site, and after a number of years, it looked like Tobacco Road, with old campers and house trailers parked hither and yon, abandoned autos and pickups, etc. Advised by legal counsel to forbid overnight stays due to liability concerns, the museum board attempted to evict the volunteers. It worked for a while, and some of the most egregious examples were removed, but it still goes on.

Even on-site kitchen and dining facilities may be a problem if no one is willing to keep them sanitary and neat.

When I was at TVRM, they maintained a bunk house at the shops for the out of town folks. Individuals were responsible for providing their own bedding. On the rare occasion that a female member or married couple needed lodging on the property, the railroad would make arrangements-usually spotting the business car in front of the shop and putting it on shore power. The museum also had local motels that volunteers could get the corporate rate at.

I've talked with plenty of older museum people over the years who talked down to anyone showing a more intense enthusiasm for trains. One, at a very well-know RR museum annoyed me so much I asked in front of several people, "Okay, so train fans are scum? Why the [bleep] are you here, then?" I actually got some clapping form some of the others with that comment. The old crust museum guy (every museum has at least one) didn't say a thing, and instead turned and walked away.Good point. Several times I helped out with various travelling WW2 airplanes, I got incentive rides for my time if there were empty seats. I had to find my own way back, but that was never a problem as they'd go an airport which had rental cars.
Volunteer cab rides and throttle time would be a great thing.
And yet, I know of a few museums who'd never do that. I won't name names (I no longer live in the area it's in) but I overheard someone being asked about throttle time for volunteers and I clearly heard, "Are you nuts? That's for the crew guys. The last thing we should be doing is to allow just... anyone time in the locomotive! They need to know their place!" I never forgot that quote, which is why I wouldn't have done anything for them if I was paid for it.

The museum I'm involved with has over the years, when a piece of equipment (particularly the electrics) is completed often on an early evening, after the regular service is over, we conduct "test runs." On these are a chance for everyone who has worked on the car a chance to operate the it, at least one-way (if not round trip) on the railway.

The operation, of course, is under the observation/direction of appropriately qualified operators.

I am sure that the steam and diesel crews do the same sort of thing.

But how do you do the same thing for the people who only work on the steam-road passenger or freight cars?

To me showing appreciation for volunteers is not a reward for the volunteer who has the most hours or the one who donated the most money it is appreciating each person for their positive contributions and the the progress we made together as an organization. When I was at the Nevada Northern they did usually supply lunch some hotels offered rooms and they did a yearly banquet. With the Southwest Chapter everybody seemed more focused on the locomotive and more people seemed to focus on the machine. We had for the most part a good working relationship. Another situation that I am aware of they put up a display of major donors to the property. One member was so worried that internal politics would influence the list of major donors that he pushed that an inactive member's name was on the list and even made a special trip to the property just to make sure the person was recognized.

I think when encouraging volunteers there are different challenges for each organization. First make sure you have policies and procedures in place that everyone knows ahead of time. Make sure you treat everybody fairly and impartially Any perceived favoritism will not help with internal communications or relations. Typically there are a lot of people who want to talk to the passengers and pull the throttle but fewer people who are willing to do track or shop work. If you have fifty conductors but only a couple of track guys who is more valuable to the organization. The rush to the cab is amazing but finding the one who will do the dirty work is a real asset.

With new volunteers make sure that they are welcomed. To many groups have a social patterns that has set up and intimidates new volunteers. Make sure that for someone from the outside that there is a way for them to fit in. When I first became involved with the NN I first attended their rules class. Next to me was an older female who was a little intimidated by the new experience. I kind of mentored her for the first couple of days and then when I started working ther I tried to work with her more. This experience reminded me of the frustrations of geting involved with the Southwest Chapter and I feel like a fellow volunteer mentor program would help bring new members along and help them with potential hurtles. I also think that new volunteers can reinvigorate older ones. One potential issue with the mentoring idea is with people of opposite sex. I have seen that some spouses have concerns about their spouse staying faithful when there is someone they see as a potential threat. While the group did not create the situation it can have a negative affect.

I strongly encourage that everyone has many things on their plate. Volunteering for a retired person gives them a chance to stay busy and get out of the house. For a younger person it may be an escape. As time passes the amount one is able to donate may change. To me for those who are not able to donate as much as they used to that they are still treated with respect. With the Southwest Chapter we had an early member who needed to spend more time with the family. I made a point ot keep him informed of what was going on.. By doing so I got ideas on how to deal with things and he was able to go to a couple of city meetings representing the chapter. Make sure you appreciate all that chose to participate and not make it a competition.

While everyone on the board seams fascinated by lunch for the Southwest chapter, lunch seemed to always be an issue. When we sent someone out for fast food there was always order issues. When we did cold cuts it was always a question of how many were going to show up. With either scenario we had volunteers where they did not have enough money to buy lunch. As I look back I think that can create a certain level of embarrassment by those who could not afford to be apart of the "lunch group".

One final note. Someone said always give phrase in public. With most people that is true but I can think of a few people who had a very different ego. They did not look at the world in the way most of us do. To give an example one volunteer has done some spectacular athletic feats, yet with this person it has never been about being first but doing well. They do individual sports and are very shy about their accomplishments. In giving phrase you do not want to put a person into an uncomfortable position.


In rewarding volunteers it is important to make sure you hit the audience you want. Make sure you promote activity that helps the organization.

Robby Peartree

Another (highly informal) perk I have seen, and even benefited from:

Your office has the copier, or the shop has the milling machine/drill press/lathe/etc. Or someone left their book collection to the gift shop.

Let the volunteer use the copier for his tax form, or for that book chapter he needs for research. Let the (talented) lathe guy turn him a replacement for that chair crossbrace that broke at home. Let the volunteers get first crack at the surplus books, at a discount. And cast an extra replica plate for the folks to bid on or win during the volunteers' appreciation banquet/picnic.

I just traded a $160 out-of-print book to a rail library at one museum in exchange for four surplus books worth about $160 total (eBay and Amazon used to impartially judge worth).

One operation that I've worked with did this for a newly restored engine. They had an event for the volunteers and everyone got to ride behind it for a short run and they held a brief ceremony. They then cut the engine off of the train and those that had worked hard on the restoration got a chance to take her for a supervised run, like the "engineer for an hour" programs do. Volunteers who weren't engineer qualified were able to get a chance to run her that way, so they weren't left out. Those that weren't running at the moment could see the engine in action, take photos etc. I thought it was a very nice way to reward the workers.