Howdy folks, On my drive up to Denver, I had a lot of time to think about Frisco.org, its past, present, and future. It occurred to me that Frisco.org is just one part, a library of sorts, that compliments a network of fine museums and websites dedicated to the Frisco. I wonder if starting a historical society, with the Meteor as the newsletter, and Frisco.org as the reference library, blog, and discussion forum, might be a good idea. Very simple with no big boards, hierarchies, or monies involved. What are your opinions about a historical society; specifically, what would the objective of the historical society be? What goals would we strive for in the short and long terms, e.g., serve as THE reference point for manufactures to get detailed information for models. I don't really have any personal objectives in mind, but I am not going to live forever, and I want Frisco.org to survive, evolve, and nurture the memory of the Saint Louis and San Francisco Railroad. Please vote and share your thoughts. Best regards, Mike
I'm with Tom, I thought this is what part of this site was. Maybe you could make a web site for it, with the forums on Frisco.org.
We already HAVE a "Frisco Historical (and Technical) Society." On this forum there are a couple of dozen (Likely even more) modelers, historians and trivia buffs forming an incredible bank of knowledge of the Frisco from every era and aspect of the railroad. And here, everyone is is virtualy equal, no one person with a greater voice than another. A natural checkmate on any overbearing or overreaching individual--A very democratic arrangement indeed. If there were a "society" formed with officers, minutes, committees, by-laws and all the associated trappings, the "power," like it or not, would go from distributed among many to being centralized among just a few. Let's keep it "This Way!" It's just fine as is--when someone has a question about steam, diesels, passenger trains, the latest Atlas or Athearn model, freight car brake rigging, scenery modeling, DCC etc. etc. etc., there's someone at the ready with the answer--And we don't have to elect officers, form committees or be governed by "Roberts' Rules Of Order!" Tom
Hello, I have voted "Yes" on this poll for The Frisco Historical Society. I think this will be a good idea to keep the History of The Frisco alive. If you don't mind, I am the President/Member of a Railroad Historical Society call "The Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad Historical & Restoration Society". This Society is almost 2 years old and was designed for two reasons and two reasons only, to protect the History of The ES&NA RR from being lost and to protect The ES&NA RR from being lost and forgotten. For more information on "The ES&NA RR Historical & Restoration Society", you can visit this website at http://www.savingesnarailroad.com, link under The ES&NA RR Historical & Restoration Society. Now you don't have to listen to me about this but I will say "Yes" on The Frisco Historical Society. This is just my opition. Thanks, Brian Waller
I thought we already are a Frisco Historical Society. Let's keep it like it is and not go the way of the Eureka Springs. This is way more comfortable and relaxed in my opinion.
Before I vote on this, I want to see more discussion. What, if any, would be the benefits of such over what we currently have? This website has "tons" more information than most all of the other "historical societies" that I have visited. To me it seems hard to improve on "perfect". OK, I will vote "More Discussion".
Gentlemen, at age 69, I know that at some point in time, my exit to the freeway of live will come up. My concern is what will become of the many slides, photos, maps and so on that are of no interest to the average person, but could be of great value to other Frisco types. Whom do I give these to????????? A central repository would be great so that others may continue to use them.
A few thoughts from one who has been there ..... I voted "yes" for a SLSF Historical Society. The Frisco is one of the few major rr's in the US that does not have a historical society. I can't think of another road the size of the SLSF that does not have one. Too bad. Makes the SLSF, and we who are fans of it, look bad as well. It is not without risks - I was active (in fact I wound up heading it) in a group in the early 1980's that attempted to form a historical society for the SLSF - and it was a disaster. It cost me about 90% of a valued friendship that has yet to recover - still limping along. Our 1980's society is still incorporated in Missouri to my knowledge. Advantages of a historical society are: o Broader reach - will bring in more members, and have a higher profile for the SLSF o Cooperative efforts with other "boardering" societies - MKT, MP, TRRA, SSW, PRR, ATSF, etc etc o A chance for a first class, professional "The Meteor". I'm certainly not knocking what we have, as I'm one who pushed for it. But, most of the publications I get (I'm a member of twenty rr historical societies at last count) are simply TERRIFIC magazines. Not all of them are good, however. o A place to archive, and pass on to, precious Frisco historical documents. Most of the societies maintain an archive. (I have no idea what will be done with all my stuff after I'm gone. It would be a shame to lose it) o You can attract nationally known members, authors, presenters o Have a formal annual convention - speakers, swap meet, presentations, clinics, etc. Fun - I've given clinics at a few (on the Frisco!) o frisco.org would be (should be, must be) a key part of it Disadvantages are: o It's a lot of work, and a dozen or so people - minimum - need to do it - not just one or two. o It is a formal organization with the usual bureaucratic stuff o It costs some money - annual dues, a budget, etc. How many of you contribute to frisco.org to help out Mike? You all will pay dues to a historical society to be a member o There are arguments and rivalries - I know that for a fact! o Many of them fail, or are at best so-so. Others, however, are terrific! Examples of the winners in my opinion (in no particular order): PRR, TRRA, NYC, N&W, ATSF, SP, UP, MP, GM&O, IT, Milw, RI, ACL/SAL, L&N, etc. I'm perfectly happy with frisco.org - it meets my needs and Mike (and others) do a great job with it. But, we are not giving the Frisco the exposure I feel it well deserves because we are not a well known group. The benefit of the exposure is that more stuff (information) and members will come in, and we all would gain. Just my thoughts. I know one thing - I'm not going to head up an effort to do it. Did that once, was pretty much alone, failed, still nursing scars. Ken
Perhaps Louis Griesemer in Springfield would be a good person to ask about a central repository. I keep meaning to talk to him about my stuff some day, but I plan to live a lot longer you know.
We are what we are. It has taken a lot of time and effort since the summer of 1976 to arrive here. We have almost 1,800 people in this board community with about 10% active. Doug, around since the start
The most important thing is that all the information that is "out there" in the form of plans, documents, images, etc gets preserved and not destroyed by unknowing relatives, friends, or worse; flood or fire. The best way that I can think of is to ensure that what you have gets scanned and posted here, in digital form for everyone to share. The more digital copies of everything that get produced, the less likelihood that something will get lost to everyone. Does that mean we need a formal group? I just don't have a definitive answer.
My layout plans have an interchange with ATSF, MoPac and KSC. What are the links for the above lines? Joe
I have this link to many historical societies. I have looked at several of them, but have found nothing that equals what we have here? Am I missing something? http://ribbonrail.com/rrpro/database.html
I voted "more discussion." Mike is providing a great service and several members are doing a fine job of contributing material. There does need to be something set up so this resource doesn't disappear if something happens to Mike or his server. Printing a magazine is a big effort; how many more people would be reached by that expenditure? Would an equal result come from more folks helping Richard with his electronic version? I would think the MOP is the closest comparison. They put out a nice publication that has been fairly regular (important to keep a certain part of membership happy) and they have an annual convention. They have a depository that seems to depend mostly on one or two folks for upkeep and access and right now I don't think there's anybody with the energy to get their stuff on-line in a big way. Maybe some discussions with them about the manpower and determination involved? My layout is half MOP, so I would be very happy to see a joint convention when the location is appropriate. Mutual links on websites for pertinent information, etc.
ATSF: www.atsfrr.net Excellent publication - The Warbonnet MoPac: www.mopac.org Good publication - The Eagle Don't know about the KCS society - I'm not a member. Ken
I think there will need to be something more formal at some point. I just don't know how formal it ought to be. Perhaps the way to start is for a small group to get an annual Frisco train show/convention established. Having an FHS would be a place for photos and slides to be donated to. It might also be nice to have a "Frisco.org" flyer that would be in hobby shops & museums to reach out to "civilians" (as opposed to railfans). Lots to think about on this topic. I hope these posts will get us going in some direction...
As a board member and current President of a very active railroad Historical Society and someone who has been in several organizations and put on the first Frisco Festival, I voted yes for a formal society. The majority of former Frisco employees and their families plus the general public simply do not know about this sort of website and are not personally interested in using it, but they would be more inclined to give items or ask questions to a historical society that has a permanent address and people that can be talked too one on one. We must remember that to keep the memory of the Frisco alive and to educate the masses about it will take more than just a website. Eventually the number on this site will decline simply due to fewer people alive who personally remember the Frisco before it was merged. Like Mike says, who will take on this site if something would happen to him? With a formal organization that is run well this site can go on indefinitly and a permanent depository of Frisco items can be created. This depository could be in conjunction with some government or school library or museum. I'm willing to host here in Pittsburg or at our museum in Carona a group of people who would be willing to discuss this issue and possibly put together a plan of action. If anyone is interested in this please let me know and we can set up a date and time. John Chambers President, Heart of the Heartlands Carona, Kansas www.heartlandstrainclub.org
