[PRCo] Re: Museum Policy - Continued

[Jim Holland]

Good Morning!!

> Dennis F. Cramer wrote:

> It is not about the
> equipment.

	If it weren't for the equipment, there wouldn't be a museum.   It was the RailFans who
wanted to preserve  *TrolleyCar--Equipment*  that led to trolleycar Museums and the
possibility of presenting trolleycars in context with their surroundings.

	Seems the equipment is quite important.

> Do I teach our docents to watch out for railfans? Yes.  [Are] we actually
> all railfans?  Not necessarily.

	Webster's Third New International Dictionary (the one with 2,700--pages) says:

railfan:  one whose hobby is railroads or model railroads: a railroad enthusiast.

	*Railroad*  is a broad term which includes trolleycars,  Street--Railways  or 
Street--Railroads.

	Now to splitting hairs   ---   one might say his hobby is  *history*  and that this
includes trolleycars, but when one joins a TrolleyCar Museum, writes TrolleyCar books,
collects TrolleyCar books and Photographs, subscribes to trolleycar email lists   ---  
then it certainly seems that this One is a RailFan   ---   Yes??(:->)

	Dictionary doesn't list  *types*  of railfans and personally don't want to get into
that.   But it is a fairly good assumption that all on this list qualify as  *RailFans.*

	Very nice dissertation, Dennis  --  enjoyed your perspective.

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James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation
    "O"--Scale  St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars  &
        "O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
        Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM) http://www.pa-trolley.org/
    Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.nmra.org

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