Peer review may be the next step for preservationists

In November, people who care deeply about the future of railway preservation will gather in Savannah, Ga., for the annual meeting of the Association of Tourist Railroads & Railway Museums. For those who are still getting used to that name, it’s the merged organization of the former Tourist Railroad Association Inc., and Association of Railway Museums. ATRRM is a bit more of a mouthful than ARM and TRAIN, acronyms that slide right off the tongue, but the job is still the same: Advocacy for making sure the past has a future.

The participants will be there to educate themselves, swap ideas, meet face-to-face, conjure up alliances, make deals, horse trade, you name it. It is the place to be. There are seminars, a trade show (Trains is a proud participant), and field trips that make this gathering indispensible if you are involved in railway preservation as a volunteer, manager, paid employee, or wannabe. I hope I will see you there.

I have an idea that I want to toss out to this group: Peer review. This could take place in one or two ways. The first would be in about management, board composition, fund-raising, collections, education, and safety. It would be an accreditation process, much like what the American Association of Museums does. The second method of peer review would be a consumer survey. Much like secret shoppers, these folks would visit a tourist railroad or museum and review the customer experience. It is one thing to see ourselves as we perceive it, but it another to have someone else see it for you. I bet the reviews would be eye-opening to many.

Railway preservationists, for the most part, understand the value in being good colleagues to each other. I think they understand that if the public likes one venue, they’re more likely to try another. And by the same token, if they have a bad experience, they’re less likely to visit tourist line or museum. Like a good wrench or a needle scaler, peer review could be one more item in the tool box to help improve the way preservationists do their job and the way the public consumes a train ride or a museum visit.