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EXPLORING THE COMPLEX WORLD OF HISTORIC RAILWAY PRESERVATION
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Alton & Southern
served, catastrophic events and the decline of the aluminum smelter that fostered the company’s initial growth. Hundreds of photos from the collections of Dick Wallin, Joe Collias, Louis Marre, as well as the archives of Cargill and Alcoa. Even the Caseyville Narrow Gauge Railway warrants coverage!
The Alton & Southern is the other major St. Louis switching line and this issue focuses on the history and operations of the A&S. Steam and diesel rosters are included, along with maps, customers
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TRRA Historical Society PO Box 1688, St. Louis, MO 63188-1688
trra-hts.railfan.net
THERE’S A POPULAR SHOW on cable televi- sion called “Pawn Stars” that documents carefully scripted encounters between ordinary folks who have items they hope are valuable looking for cash and the proprietors of a well-established Las Vegas pawn shop looking for the best deal. All number of items are brought in for appraisal, and as owner Rick Harrison is fond of saying, “You never know what will come through that door.” And so it goes with our museums and historical societies. Well-intentioned people in and out of the hobby darken your doorstep with so-called “drive-by donations” they view as being valuable in hopes that you do, too. One the one hand, you’re pleased that people would rather see something preserved than thrown away; on the other hand some of the stuff people want you to save could better be consigned to the dustbin of history. I’ve seen my fair share of odd bits and pieces come through the door, some of it useful, some of it downright baffling. Really, you can’t blame the folks
who use your museum as a dumping ground for what they perceive to be Very Important Artifacts. After all, just take a walk through your group’s back lot of amassed materials and “someday” projects, and it’s easy to see how some people might think you just like to collect stuff if for no other reason than to keep it out of the scrapyard or landfill. Of course, you know better, but that’s not the point. In past editions, we have discussed the importance of having a good collections management policy to guide acquisi- tions and dispositions. Establishing up front what is relevant to your organi- zation’s mission will help you make the
68 JANUARY 2017 •
RAILFAN.COM
“hard decisions” of what stays and what goes and keep you from looking like a candidate for another popular television show — “Hoarders.” Despite having sensible policies in
place, every organization is bound to accept a few items here and there that you’re not quite sure what to do with. Yet other groups are happy to accept any and all donations that come their way, no matter how cumbersome or disparate. The only thing worse than accepting all this stuff is figuring out what to do with it. What do you do with a smashed-in
signal head (which might actually be an old traffic light), a dessert spoon from an Ontario & Western dining car, 16 half-pound bags of rusty date nails, a handful of boxcar seals, some old Union Pacific wall calendars, a set of rulebooks, a Frisco ashtray, a deck of railroad-branded playing cards, and dozens of kerosene lanterns (with only two being actual railroad lanterns and the rest being the ubiquitous Dietz “barn lantern”)? Some groups would dutifully take all of this assembled detritus and stuff it into a display case and call it good. The more stuff you have to show, the better a museum you are, right? As long as no restrictions are placed on the donation, others might try to redistrib- ute the materials to other groups, or sell the items to generate income. More often than not, this stuff ends up in storage until someone can figure out what action should be taken. Never underestimate the over-enthu-
sastic volunteer who might glom onto some of this stuff, too. “We could repaint this thing and display it!” they exclaim as they hold up some mangled doo-dad
SKU 1605
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