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Railroads are getting bigger, but their history is getting smaller every day. Old trains are hard to preserve. The Western Railway Museum has set standards for the right way to do things. They focus on electric railroading in the American west, on 22 miles of former electric interurban railroad. I've supported the Southern Michigan Railroad Society since it first purchased the oldest branch line railroad in Michigan. They're a small outfit that needs to be a lot bigger to fulfill its mission of preserving its 13.5 miles of track. Based on my experience, I think they can get there. Here's how. I started with the tiny Michigan Transit Museum, which has lost a lot of people and really needs to find a new home. I'd really like to see a heritage line near Indianapolis survive. It's called the Cartage, Knightstown and Shirley. It hasn't run since 2013 and its web site is down. |