Really guys?

First - where are the moderators - I thought STMFC was NOT supposed to be a forum for attacking organizations business practices?

Second - talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Last I checked, the historical societies are supported by volunteers, and many, especially for long-fallen flags, are suffering from a significant drop in membership for the simple fact that most former employees have passed on. So we are to crucify a group that is still trying to promote their fallen flag while their membership drops?

Third - Does this mean a Historical Society that lacks resources to produce fine scale models (Who defines "fine scale" - perhaps only proto48 or proto87 cars need apply?) is no longer useful? I think the IRS has a different criteria (thankfully) for non-profit, educational organizations.

Fourth - A group that complains about the price of fine scale models and how they can not be afforded by many modelers , now finds it unconscionable that an HS produces "stand-in" or even "foobie" models that a much larger segment of the model railroad community can afford?

Here is a sad reality check - most Historical Societies are losing all of their former employee members. Members who worked side by side on the real railroad for decades - they joined the societies almost as a retirement club to preserve bonds and fellowship they had before they joined the society, and those members have provided all of us a very valuable service by preserving and disseminating important railroad history.

But now the HS's need to attract new members, and that will only happen by creating a sense of fellowship between mostly modelers (and a few historians) - who did NOT spend their careers working together.

This challenge is going to be very difficult - to get modelers to volunteer their time for their favorite prototype's historical society to try to keep the flag alive (instead of using that time to build more models for their layouts), and continue to preserve and publish the prototype's materials and historical information. Building a sense of fellowship between modelers so they join and volunteer their time to keep the historical societies viable will be much more difficult if members snipe at each other because they will not agree on the necessary level of fidelity in their models.

How can any of this drivel be considered a positive contribution to the core (and legally required) mission of the HS's to preserve railroad history?

If a car is too foobie for you - don't buy it.

If you want something better, volunteer to help the society produce a better product.

If they determine it can't be done, or will not do it - for whatever reason, then do it yourself - I am SURE the historical society will be happy to provide you the prototype information required for you to develop an ac curate model and sell it yourself.

This sort of intolerance needs to stop - or we will be burying the very organizations that help provide the data modelers on this list need for ANY level of model fidelity.

And you wonder why the commercial hobby press uses "rivet counters" in a derisive manner? This thread makes the case pretty convincingly.

This is a hobby guys - we are not developing flight control software that will kill someone if it does not meet all the requirements.

Sorry Mike, don't care about the food down below - this has reached a new low for intolerance.

Dave Evans
PRRT&HS