Would you folks be so kind as to continue the discussion regarding the 0-8-0 in the appropriate thread? Thanks.

Randy -

Not sure what you mean by the "appropriate thread", but I've twice tried to post comments about the 0-8-0 on this thread and they've apparently gone to "thread comments heaven". So, goodbye!


Les

Les,
I am referring to Tweetsie’s thread regarding the locomotive, which was moved to the railfanning forum. There seems to be enough interest in the locomotive to warrant a dedicated thread in the interchange if someone is interested in starting one. I do not control the comments posted by anyone other than myself and I’m sorry that I can’t explain what’s happened to yours here.

Randy -

I have never been on the Railfanning forum, and don't intend to be. I didn't bring up IC 3525 on this thread, but strictly made a comment since it had already been mentioned. Thanks anyway, for the explanation.


Les

As a 16 year old rail preservationist, I think I can add to this topic from personal experience alone.

Around 2 1/2 years ago I started volunteering at the Wheels O' Time Museum in Peoria, IL. At that point I had no idea how restorations worked; I was just hyper focused on "big steam train." Over the next year, I was taught by much wiser volunteers at the museum on how to maintain and preserve not only a steam locomotive, but the rest of our tiny fleet.

I disagree and agree with the thread at the same time. I feel we should try to aid Tweetsie12 in his passion, but we should also guide him down the path of realistic thinking, just like how I was taught a few years ago. Constructive criticism and outside opinions are very important for us human things. Without it, I wouldn't be who I am now.

Now, thanks to the help from countless kind folks, I co-own and operate a railroad museum in Heyworth, IL. with a few other people. (One being Trainkid456 here on RYPN, say hi Thomas) I also aid in the restoration of two 1890s Pullman observation cars as well as help maintain a depot and caboose in Chillicothe, IL. I would not have been able to learn the skills I have to be able to pull this off without the helping hands of those who have put in effort to watch me grow, not only as a teenager, but as a railroad preservationist.

I'll end with this, it's important that we pass the torch to these enthusiastic young railfans, instead of pushing them away. Tweetsie can do great things if he sticks to realistic goals, it's our jobs to help him set those goals. I'd like to see him accomplish things just like I did. Banning him because of a few posts won't do any good, lets welcome him into this community and show him how important he is to the future of rail preservation.

Thanks,

Connor

I have to fully agree with Mr. Connor.

As someone who once shared similar thoughts about restoring big steam trains and GG1s at the age of 14 and 15, it wasn't until Walkersville Southern and the Queen Anne's Museum of Eastern Shore Life picked me up when I began to realize how the preservation game really works. It's not so easy to just post something online and instantly get support. I really must emphasize that getting teenagers and younger individuals involved in railway preservation is vital! They need to learn these lessons!

We should not suppress people for having dreams, but we should remind them that these dreams require experience. I have a dream about moving a certain locomotive to a certain museum, but for now I recognize that I don't have the experience to do so. I'm waiting and watching, gathering as much information as I can from QARRS meetings and from other's projects online and starting and assisting in smaller projects to work my way up. My father once explained to me that he attended hundreds of public school board meetings before he ran to be in it and I think that can apply to young railway preservationists.

Mr. Miller:

Precisely.

Best of luck. Stick with it, it can be quite a ride.

Howard P.

Dreams are the driving life of this hobby.

Mr. Vuillemot's efforts prove that anything is possible if one has both the initiative and the courage to tackle such a complex task. The issue I have with some of the older gentlemen in this community here is the lack of a will to try new things. Whether it's with a new piece of technology or analytical method I just can't understand the restraining feeling to try, it's as if the energy in their lives have been all exhausted.

In my area I grew up hearing stories of figures like Ron Ziel pushing all the boundaries of their time with ambitious plans and desires some successful others not. Where in this country has all the creativity gone since? Restoring a GG1 it's suddenly impractical, building a PRR T1 from scratch it's somehow feasible! Taking great risks and experimenting with outlandish projects is what makes the railroad preservation community great. If we can't do that then I'm afraid we've lost our way.

Cameron

A lot of good points in this thread.

I would not say “dreams are the driving life in the hobby.” I would suggest that its “executable ideas or goals” that are the driving force, the reason people take on a project or participate in some effort. Keep in mind, much of the time its simply a social endeavor. Something enjoyable to do with others. Some people play golf, some people restore steam locomotives, others do track work on Wednesday evenings.

I tend to openly say that I hate trains. I really don’t have much use for them, but, I enjoy working on old stuff of most any kind, and I enjoy the connection with the people who came before me. And I have made life long friends in the process. Look around some time. People who restore railroad equipment tend to have interests in mechanical items other than trains. Player pianos seem popular, antique cars, steam boats, etc. Funny how that works.

I am tired of hearing people talk about how there is no youth in this hobby. No, there is youth, its there. I’m just not sure us old guys know how to latch on to them. Cameron is a good example as is Orion. And seems to me many of the key guys at the WW&F started as pretty young guys. When we moved the Trenton trolley a few months ago, the prep crew ranged in age from 30 to 70.

If I was to be asked what the younger guys could do who have some big ideas and maybe feel like they are being shot down, its to get together. Talk. Bang ideas around with people your age. I did a lot of that as a 16 year old kid in the 1970s with other kids my age. You have to be able to reach out to others, to work with others as a team. Taking on a big project by yourself is really not helping long term. You need to bring in others and of all ages really.

In other words, lead a team, not a project. Chance of success will be greater and it will be a lot more fun.

J.R. May
Officially Crotchety
“I hate trains, but like old stuff...”
Shays and MG’s - why bother messing with anything else?

Oh man, where to start...

I've enjoyed trains my entire life. I had no idea how they *really* worked and the logistics behind many factors in the preservation field until I turned 14. My first volunteer gig at a railroad really opened my eyes to just how much stuff needed to be done pertaining to the actual process of restoring and operating something. I had a lot of help along the way from folks who were decades older than myself. They understood the importance of youth within preservation, although at the time I had no idea just how important it really was. They were the original motivators behind my madness.

After 3 years of volunteer work, I decided to take on my first preservation project. Simple as it may seem to anyone who's never worked on one, it was a boxcar. Initial inspection didn't seem like it was too far gone, but I also completely underestimated just how much work and material was needed. Needless to say, as discussed in this article, I had a mixture of people offering support for the project, and a mixture of people who made it their mission to squash any fantasy I had floating around in my head. To this minute, I still am conflicted on what was the right thing to do. Long story short, the boxcar survived despite countless threats of a lawsuit, scrapping, and blacklisting by a railroad director.

My point I'm trying to reach based off of my own experiences, is be careful who's dreams you squash and how you handle their fantasies. There isn't always a doom and gloom route when someone suggests or pursues a project that is obviously too far out of their reach. Another posted stated "I've lead the horse to water, but I can't force them to drink." and that's a very fitting statement. In my own immaturity and lack of wisdom, I burnt many bridges that I shouldn't have.

Be a leader to someone. The best way to point someone in the right direction is to show them this is a community here to support each other, not destroy each others ideas. All over the world, there's someone young who is enthusiastic and ready to take on anything, but a lack of compasionate leadership and understanding from the elders of the preservation community is tearing the persons enthusiasm apart and turning it into a need to prove them wrong. Youth can be dumb, yes I won't sugar coat it, but the only way to shape them into a beneficial member is to lead them with understanding and a will to find a middle ground that will work.

Proving somebody wrong is not necessary under any circumstances - showing them after they have proven themselves wrong what they need to do to either recognise it themselves or prove themselves right is what it's about..... but you have to do that from a perspective based in reality rather than fantasy. Is there a workable gentle means of pointing this out to people who want to ground themselves in fantasy?