Posted by Jock on August 22, 2005 at 15:40:24 from 217.172.246.144 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: Swallow anew? posted by Peter H on August 22, 2005 at 14:44:03:
Jock - believe it or not, I am a keen follower of the railway preservation scene in the UK also! And what you did not mention was that there have been quite a few preserved lines that have gone belly-up in recent years, and quite a few loco restoration projects that have had themselves to be rescued.
Peter, I'm am aware of your railway interest. Believe it or not, I've followed your postings over the years with a mixture of amusement, amazement, and admiration. As far as the dangers of NS becoming a white elephant my position on this is closer to yours than may be evident from my posts. However, at the moment I am enjoying the maritime technology debate aspect of NS and - not wanting to dominate Tarboard I will wait for this aspect of NS to quieten down before wading in on the more philosophical matters.
To return to the crux of your post I'm not sure of the supply of money is finite argument applies to these sort of projects. The sums involved are tiny in comparison to the amount of money in circulation. I'm not even sure that the "supply of volunteers is finite" argument which was trotted out to me on many occasions is valid either.
What does make an enormous difference, the 'success factor' if you like, is managing the project in such a manner so that (1) those contributing feel good and recruit more volunteers, (2) that the 'customers' get their money's worth and enjoy themselves so that they come back with their families and friends for more and that (3)everything, including a (4) well oiled publicity machine, is run in a professional and business-like manner. The railway preservation schemes that went 'belly up' usually failed in terms of one or more of these criteria. The same matters will decide whether the NS is a white elephant or roaring success.