Well that is why I said "thinking about it" as I know of some places where no thought is even given to the necessity to place at least the more fragile equipment under roof. I understand economics, but rust does not care how much money is in or not in the organization's account.

Even I don't live up to my own standards, but there is a plan in place to house additional pieces should the means to do so become available.

Connection to the railway system is desirable but not necessary. I can think of several operations that have isolated track that are doing well.

Repainting a locomotive in a paint scheme it never wore just to fit your area.

CN 5288 still remains at TVRM but for one thing the 4-6-2 is resting and the engine is too big for the missionary ridge local and the 4501 has it's stoker

I'd give this one a pass. Unfortunately you're not going to always go out and find for example a SAL RS3 (the NYC RS3 Painted in Seabord colors) that's available for restoration or still in existence. Not every road still has examples of its original power surviving, so this is a suitable fit in. There could also be the case where an example is either too expensive to restore for a not for profit or acquire from a used loco dealer.

Yeah, I think I would give this a "pass" too, IF a "faux" number was used. Either the next number up (or down) from the end of that series on the railroad. As an example, if the B&LE 2-10-4 would ever go to say the Midwest, or upper Midwest, she could logically be numbered CB&Q 6328 (the next number beyond 6327) or DM&IR 718 (the next number beyond 717). And please; this is an EXAMPLE only! Don't want to kick start the B&LE #643 story back into gear!

Les

With the difficulty in getting rail equipment acceptable to Class 1 railroads and the number of entities providing over the road heavy haul services, shipping equipment by truck is becoming more commonplace than shipping by rail. That makes the active rail connection even less crucial, unless you are in the passenger car business or excursion locomotive business.

Yes. That is why I mentioned the Black Hills Central, a landlocked but flourishing operation. I just bemoan what happened to the railroad in Stillwater, MN.

The WW&F Railway Museum has very few original narrow gauge railway cars. They are building replicas of the equipment with the next highest numbers i.e. #126 is just ahead of the #125 last car.

A replica coach is going to be the next higher passenger car number.

Way to go folks!

Ted Miles, WW&F Member

Groups continuing to harbor animosity towards other groups. Volunteers are in short supply. Public grant money is in short supply. There are plenty of groups who are surviving, and plenty that are losing out. A few groups are thriving. Groups should be willing to help out other groups. Much more will get accomplished by working together, than by groups working together than by working independently.

James Hinman

Having plans, drawings, and information readily available, but not sharing it unless you get to charge an exorbitant fee. Worse yet, not sharing.

Similar thoughts about sharing names and addresses of cooperative funding agencies.

> Groups continuing to harbor animosity towards other groups.

Shoot, what about groups where management fosters animosity WITHIN the group. This brings up then groups that drive off future leaders, future generations, so as to maintain their own power positions while the organization falls apart around them.

Insularity - both between the organization and the community it should but doesn't serve, and within the organization itself. Failure to constantly rethink the status quo as changes happen all around until it's too late. Falsely believing in the comfortable mythology that has developed for decades despite evidence that it no longer holds true if it ever did. Business decisions based on personal interests and prejudices or emotional reactions. Being reactive rather than proactive in relations with changes in the neighborhood.

I'm watching a crew bailing water from one side of the sinking ship into the other right now....... painful but not without some amusing aspects.

Not having a working collection management plan and process regarding acquisition, restoration, preservation, maintenance deaccession and governance/management of all artifacts and rolling equipment. I have seen artifacts and parts leave the property, infighting and hurt feelings over historic restoration accuracy and poor maintenance of previously restored artifacts because the current person with the strongest personality or in charge is not interested in that particular artifact. Not having and following a plan that the governing body agrees to will just have volunteers wondering from one project to another and making their own, and sometime uninformed or poorly researched restoration decision. Donors that have historic artifacts that would fit well within the mission of the organization, will not donate artifacts or money to an organization that does not have a working collections management process. I know I won't.......

Mike Ramsey

Sticking all your worst condition stuff out front. Nothing turns off the public more than thinking they've come to a RR scrapyard instead of a museum.
Breaking down an exhibit and handing off pieces to individuals to 'restore'. How many times have we read of that, then years later nobody can recall who has the headlight for the locomotive, or the guy passed away and the wife gave it to Goodwill or sold it as she had no clue who really owned it? I'd bet sometimes, the part is outright stolen by said member in a few cases, as I know for sure of one guy who took such a part to restore, got ticked off by some member from the group, and said he was going to keep the part for compensation. Nothing was written down, so they couldn't get the item back, especially after he moved and nobody from the museum had a clue where to find him.

There was also a good discussion here a while back about docents and how visitors can have a horrible experience with them.

Or worse, Noon to 4PM on weekdays only.
In my part of the country, almost no museums (and very few hobby shops) are open on Sundays for some reason.
I've seen it elsewhere. "Come on back on Monday" doesn't work when you're passing through the area. I've missed out on a few big museums because they never advertised they were closed on Sundays and I knew that was probably my one time ever to see the place...
A big one for me is to put a sign on the place if you're closed outside your normal times. I'll never forget going to see the USS Hornet in Alameda, going up to the dock on a day and time it should have been open, only to see a chained lock with no reason why. I never found out what that was about and I doubt I'll ever get to see it in person in the future.

One HUGE thing for me is if someone visits and they clearly came for something specific, just leave them alone. I had to go 20 rounds of Q&A at the entrance of a well-known non-RR-related museum, with little time to get some shots of the one thing I went to see. I eventually said to the person I thought they were nice but I came for something specific and didn't have time to chat. You'd have thought I told them they were ugly and they stunk or something equally offensive. You volunteers might be retirees with all the time in the world, but people travelling often have a limited time at a museum, especially if they're travelling with a spouse and kids (who probably have zero interest in what Dad wants to see)....