Volunteering

The obvious first question that comes to my mind is, what museums and/or preservation operations are located near to your residence?  Second, would be what skills do you have to offer such preservation operations?

I am very close to CVSRR and and Midwest Railway in Cleveland.  Have been a machinist for 40 years in a job shop both manual and CNC lathes and mills, but those skills are fairly common in the rust belt.  A lot of the work seems to be just plain hard labor.  Please, in no way am I impugning or questioning their integrity.

Pete S

PETE S posted:

I am very close to CVSRR and and Midwest Railway in Cleveland.  Have been a machinist for 40 years in a job shop both manual and CNC lathes and mills, but those skills are fairly common in the rust belt.

Maybe true but, do all those OTHER Machinists have any desire to assist/volunteer on a steam locomotive restoration project?

 A lot of the work seems to be just plain hard labor.

That is what steam locomotives are all about. Even the simplest of tools are HEAVY. Remember the old adage about comparing steam to diesel locomotives:   It only takes a few minutes to find the problem but a day or two to fix it on a steam locomotive. With a diesel, it make take a day or two to find the cause of a problem, but only a few minuets to fix it.

 Please, in no way am I impugning or questioning their integrity.

Pete S

 

Additionally, a museum may also have passenger and even freight cars that need some TLC, so your skills could also be of use there.

Even administrative skills could be useful, but I think any museum would be willing to take on another machinist.

A good museum will take the time to assist a new volunteer to learn the ropes. 

I was a computer field serviceman (punch card pre-PC days) by trade back when I started at IRM, but I did know which end of a hammer to use.  My first job was needle chipping 1630's boiler.  Dirty, sweaty and the needle chipper got heavier as the day went on.  It was oddly relaxing.

My eventual goal was to learn how to fire and operate a steam locomotive, which I accomplished.

Rusty

Why not just volunteer at these railroads and determine for yourself which ones are "worth while efforts" and which ones are "ill considered?" Talk to the volunteers and see what kind of vibe they give off.

If you are a "volunteer," you are not wedded to any institution, and can leave whenever you want.

As far as skills, being a machinist is definitely helpful. But what interests do YOU have? On our railroad, we have guys that are specifically interested in Steam, some specifically interested in Diesels, some specifically interested in being conductors, some specifically interested in being dispatchers, some specifically interested in anything dealing with woodworking, etc. We have one member who just really loves to come out and mow the grass, but even that "skill" is valued, because he really keeps the place looking nice. It takes all kinds of people and skills to make for a successful tourist railroad.

Sometimes places can be a little clique-y. In our organization, the steam guys are generally younger, and we are all close. We bust each others' chops and go out for beers. The diesel guys are older, grumpier and can't figure out why we like steam. They don't want to change anything in our business model or try anything new.

At the end of the day, though, we're still a family. Dysfunctional, perhaps, but a family. When things get too political or acrid with the diesel guys, I know I can take refuge with the stream crew.

So just go out there and see what these places have to offer. Talk to the people. See if they're "your kind of folks." And have fun!

I have no problem with the hard work.   Was accustomed to heavy, high value work pieces under pressure to produce, so as Rusty Traque mentioned, there is a decompressing element to scraping paint.  I really know nothing about restoring steam, rolling stock or diesel power but I can learn.  It's just that the money mentioned to restore is staggering.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Like any craftsman, I would take pride in any piece properly restored, however minor my role was.   So I will just sign up and give it my best.

Pete S

The only "money" you'll be out of pocket will be your membership fee (if there is one). We fund our projects through ticket sales and donations. So yes, while the costs can be staggering, you, personally,  won't be asked to pay for them.

Pete, I am the DSLE (Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers) at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR). I can tell you that it is a first-rate operation with very high standards on the railroad and in the shop.

If you would like more details about the CVSR, shoot me an email and we'll go from there. CLICK HERE to send me an email.

this place might be close to you.

http://www.midwestrailway.org/

http://www.midwestrailway.org/membership-1.html

PETE S posted:

     As retirement approaches, I am considering volunteering time to a local steam and RR preservation group.  How do you distinguish worth while efforts from the ill considered ones?  The last UP thread was low on info and high in vitriol.  A lot of time and money is involved in restoration, and when there is  money, well you know...

Pete S

A lot will depend on the politics of the organization: whether you are made to feel welcome and appreciated, and have an opportunity to do satisfying work with suitable rewards. I've been in some volunteer situations where paid people do easy jobs and they direct volunteers to do the grunt work. I got tired of that.

You are very fortunate if you have potentially interesting volunteer opportunities in your home neighborhood.

Thanks to one and all for the helpful input.                                                                                                                                                                                                            I am within 15 minutes of the Cuyahoga valley and the old B&O roundhouse.  My whole interest was piqued while riding behind NKP #765 on the CVSR.  If Rich endorses the organization, then they must be as well run internally as they appear to be externally.  While touring the round house, I got to see the state of renovation of the Mikado #4070 and the T1 Northern #2100.  The Midwest Railway Society occupies the roundhouse and enjoys the advantage of having usable stalls and yard space for use by other organizations.  Pretty old and gritty place, just like me.  So time to go off and get dirty. 

Pete S

When much younger I did volunteer work and regret spending hundreds of hours, without reimbursement for a coke, carefare, or a sandwich. The people in charge (more than one group) were very click-ish, wealthy and self-absorbed with irrational priorities and poor political skills. Hopefully you will have better luck. When I suffered a minor injury due to their negligence they did not even cover the ER bill.

smd4 posted:

Why not just volunteer at these railroads and determine for yourself which ones are "worth while efforts" and which ones are "ill considered?" Talk to the volunteers and see what kind of vibe they give off.

If you are a "volunteer," you are not wedded to any institution, and can leave whenever you want.

This sounds like good advice.

I once offered to volunteer at a RR-related operation. I won't say when or where this was but I got a horrible reaction. They did everything short of saying, "Well, we don't really need people but if you ask real nicely, we might let you take tickets at the platform and sweep up after us." They did actually mention sweeping was called for.

They also specifically told me to "give up on the dream of being an engineer", as they had people for that already. This was before they knew if I had any RR experience at all (in fact, they never even asked). I could have had Hot Water's level of experience for all they knew. Mind you, I was in my 30s, in excellent shape as I was an Army officer at the time, and presented myself professionally, if I do say so myself. they weren't staring at an overweight, pimply foamer type with bad hygiene and manners to match.

I've never suffered fools well, so as I turned to walk away, I said as calmly as I could, "I'm sorry I wasted your time by asking if you needed any help. For what it's worth, you might want to ask questions of the backgrounds in the future for anyone who might be foolish enough to ask if you need volunteers, because you never know what experience base you could be missing out on," and I then left without another word. I never went back there, even to ride as a paying customer.

Not every museum is like that, of course, but I have found in life that for the most part, your first impression is actually a decent gauge of how an organization really is.

In this day and age where the youth simply won't show up the second day if they get the reception I got, some of these museums can't exist into the future with an attitude like that.

smd4 posted:

Why not just volunteer at these railroads and determine for yourself which ones are "worth while efforts" and which ones are "ill considered?" Talk to the volunteers and see what kind of vibe they give off.

If you are a "volunteer," you are not wedded to any institution, and can leave whenever you want.

As far as skills, being a machinist is definitely helpful. But what interests do YOU have? On our railroad, we have guys that are specifically interested in Steam, some specifically interested in Diesels, some specifically interested in being conductors, some specifically interested in being dispatchers, some specifically interested in anything dealing with woodworking, etc. We have one member who just really loves to come out and mow the grass, but even that "skill" is valued, because he really keeps the place looking nice. It takes all kinds of people and skills to make for a successful tourist railroad.

Sometimes places can be a little clique-y. In our organization, the steam guys are generally younger, and we are all close. We bust each others' chops and go out for beers. The diesel guys are older, grumpier and can't figure out why we like steam. They don't want to change anything in our business model or try anything new.

At the end of the day, though, we're still a family. Dysfunctional, perhaps, but a family. When things get too political or acrid with the diesel guys, I know I can take refuge with the stream crew.

So just go out there and see what these places have to offer. Talk to the people. See if they're "your kind of folks." And have fun!

I must be a diesel guy. I'm grumpy and getting older.

DennyM posted:

I must be a diesel guy. I'm grumpy and getting older.

Yeah, probably.

I am a member at Midwest and soon will be shipping our Alco S2 up there for storage/restoration.  When I started going up there I was quite warmly welcomed by Steve and Ken and the rest of the crew.  Midwest has an awful lot of stuff going on and needs some extra help to keep all of this stuff happening.  Soon there will be 12 diesels on the property in addition to the two steam locomotives.

     I decided to join up at Midwest, volunteer and see how it goes. Rick was right,  nice bunch of guys,  good mix of age groups.  Ken made me feel free to jump in wherever my inclinations might be.  Saturday, track work seemed to be the most pressing need, so I pitched in helped with that.  At least I think I was helpful.  Certainly worth the time and effort,  Look forward to seeing the S2 come in.  

Pete S

Pete,

I hope to see you up at Midwest sometime then.  I try to make it up as much as I can, but I have a two foot gauge railroad that I am building in Youngstown that takes up a lot of my time right now.  But once the Alco gets there I will be on site more often for sure. 

Rick