We have a drama unfolding in Jim Thorpe, to the rest of the world it might not mean a hill of beans but to many it is indeed important. Of course hindsight is always 20/20 and right now we can’t see the future so we are all wondering what is going to happen. I myself am wondering if the Internet and the power of instantaneous worldwide communication and a network of likeminded people can prevent the loss of these important items? But my little brain also wonders... What if we had the Internet as we know it today back when we lost most of the Paulson Spence collection for example? Will the Internet be of any real use in this situation in Jim Thorpe right now? Would it have been back then? Time will tell for question #1 and it is interesting to think about question #2.

Tom Gears

Tom;

The internet allows us in the outside world to be informed and to voice our opinion, and either have editors in the local papers or ourselves write articles expressing how we feel.

But, my experience this year with attempting to preserve the compressor house at the former Solvay Coke Plant in Milwaukee showed that unless local city officials and citizens get involved; outsider activity alone won't help. The developer recieved a lot of feedback from the steam community, and a local editor (Whitney Gould of the MSJ) wrote several articles about it; and a film crew came in to film it for a future series. But apparently little feedback was recieved from the city of Milwaukee.

That, along with a failure to come up with an adaptive reuse plan with a developer that had the money to pull it off, resulted in the compressor house coming down in August of this year. Only one steam engine and perhaps a few small items were removed before the demolition.

It will be an educational experience to see how we can use the power of the internet in situations like this; but it looks like without grass roots on the ground, the internet alone is not enough.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

[url=http://www.survivingworldsteam.com]Surviving World Steam Project
[/url]

The internet is a very effective tool for disseminating information, sharing knowledge, and engaging in a call-to-arms when time is of the essence.

However, the internet is also a ruthlessly efficient means of circulating - intentionally or unintentionally - misinformation, rumor, speculation, political agenda, and downright falsehoods.

If people close to any given situation can use forums like this one to verify news and focus our collective interest, I think it is a useful and powerful tool. On the other hand, I have also seen boards (sometimes even rypn, which I respect) where third party speculation gets way ahead of facts and serves no useful purpose.

Alan Maples

If the power of the internet cannot be translated into $$$$$, forget it. If there is anything that has been made more obvious in this day and age it is that politicians respond to contributions moreso than public opinion.

If city, state, or federal officials have a mind to do something, public opinion has little effect in changing that. All one needs to consider is the present state of affairs at Steamtown.

This idea has already been tried unsuccessfully at the Georgetown Loop. The NGDF has an ongoing saga of 4-6 months trying to get the CHS to realize they were heading into a tail spin.

Now the former operator is moving their equipment to CRRm and the Royal Gorge and the CHS is scrambling for equipment.

But CHS has promised everyone that there will be a steam train. They have dismantled 2-3 locomotives and have a string of drop bottom gons for passengers and that's about it.

DvV