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We’re Better Together!
EXPLORING THE COMPLEX WORLD OF HISTORIC RAILWAY PRESERVATION If Only You Knew...
A steam photo train makes its way past a group of happy spectators and photographers on the Niles Canyon Railway in Sunol, Calif., on March 9, 2014. The skilled NCRy volunteers make it look so easy, but so much work went on behind the scenes to make an event like this possible. Before this train turned a wheel, there were funds to be raised, bills to be paid, and crews to be trained, for starters. — STEVE BARRY
MANY RAILFANS IGNORE MUSEUMS and tourist railroads altogether. After all, it’s not “real” railroading, right? Everyone knows “that ca- boose” and “that engine” never ran together. Besides, most of the vintage equipment nev- er gets repainted, and if it does, it’s almost always somehow wrong. The trains are nev- er pointed the right direction for optimal photography. Many of the organizations are closed-off to the public, and even if you try to join, you get the cold shoulder from one or more established cliques who shun new blood. Doesn’t sound like anyone’s kind of good time, does it? For all their perceived flaws, it’s difficult to
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imagine the individual struggles each orga- nization manages on a day-to-day basis. The average visitor certainly doesn’t know, and doesn’t care. Why should they? Visitors make the trip to your location to be entertained, first and foremost. If you happen to educate them along the way, then consider that a bonus. Never mind the six years and tens of thousands of dollars you raised to make sure you have the right shade of paint and correct lettering applied to your latest restoration, your visitors just want to have fun. We have discussed the perils and profits
of restoring and operating vintage railroad equipment in past editions of this column. The trains and artifacts we preserve are just one part of the equation. To have a successful operation that is open and attractive to the public, it takes so much more. I’ve been an active volunteer at the Roch-
ester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum since my first years as a student at nearby Rochester Institute of Technology. The choice seemed obvious to me; here was a chance to get my hands dirty working on real trains
on a regular basis. A couple of weekends a month, out in the sunshine, on our own pri- vate railroad. Seemed like it would be fun. How many of you are now chuckling to yourselves? It turns out it was a lot of fun. I brought
some friends along and we got involved in ev- erything from train operation to equipment restoration. As the years went on, I took on a few more responsibilities here and there. Be- fore I knew it, I was running for a position on our Board of Trustees. My first board meeting was an eye-opening experience. Here I was, surrounded by friends and colleagues that I had worked alongside for years, yet the meeting quickly took a se- rious tone once we were called to order. We spent a good part of the evening discussing nearly every aspect of our museum’s opera- tion. Sadly, very little of that time was dis- cussing the correct shade of paint or proper lettering for any of our trains. Like any volunteer organization, we spent
most of our meeting discussing money. First, there were utility bills to pay for water, elec- tric, and phone service. We had to purchase diesel fuel for the coming season, but that was like going to the casino with your life savings and hoping you come out a winner at the end. Buy now, or buy later? Then there was the issue of purchasing parts to repair one of our aging diesels. Another discussion came up about replacing one of our bulldozers with a smaller model that would be better suited to our needs. Purchasing fuels and lubes for our various machines (like lawn mowers, weed trimmers, air compressors) also came up. One of our tractors needed a new tire. Advertis- ing costs for the upcoming season needed to be addressed, since we were approaching an
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