Re: PC: What if

[Christian Axsiom <rcaxsiom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:13 AM 7/27/98 EST, Bill Cameron wrote:
I have seen others on rail websites say they despise the "worms." But we
love it and here in 1998 have a daily discussion and debate about it.  That
is great and this is where the PC still lives.  Instead of "what if" maybe
we should ask "why."  I think it would be interesting to hear from other
fans as to why they love the PC.  I know we are definitely a unique group
in the railfan community.
>

Exactly why am I a PC fan?  I'm not totally sure.  Perhaps it's my
childhood, perhaps it's that PC's railroaders were trying to make it in an
era when nothing was going right for railroads in general.  Maybe its just
the yummy green boxcars (kind of look like lime sherbet, another childhood
favorite).

Or perhaps the answer is in the changing nature of what railfanning is.  I
see it on this list: people are doing a great job of bringing up these
great issues of culture, economics, design, etc.  I notice this especially
with the younger fans.

Perhaps, as we think about the PC historical society, we have a unique
opportunity to consider what a RR historical society should be.  Is it just
preserving old rolling stock, or should these wider interpretive issues of
how PC fit into the culture and society of its time also be a part of it?
There's nothing wrong with just preserving -- in fact, it's extremely
important, but I think it's great that these "what if" discussions crop up
-- or discussions about what it was like to ride PC commuter lines in the
seventies or work for the RR in that era, or anecdotes about moldy sleepers
and what you could do in them ;-).

Is what it means to be a railfan changing -- at least for some?  Is this
why we like PC (with all its controversey and problems)?  After all, what
other rail discussion group can include discussions of 60 Minutes (the TV
show) reports?  I'm sure there might be some, but I'd think of PC first.
:-)  I'm not trying to say that older fans, or fans of older RRs, haven't
talked about these things before, but it seems as though there is a new
sort of atmosphere with the PC thing.  At the NRHS convention in Syracuse,
it sure seemed like I was one of the youngest people not there with a
parent, and I didn't hear conversations like the ones on this list.  Maybe
I just went to the wrong seminars, and maybe younger folks can't afford to
go (I know I couldn't afford some of it.)  Or maybe the younger folks are
just looking for something a little bit different?  

BTW,  I want to apologize for the harshness of my winge on the
unmentionable (tresXXXXing) issue.  I wrote before I allowed my temper to
cool, and after thinking about it, I decided that y'all really didn't need
to be bothered with my 2 cents.  Jerry and Evil Mike were correct in
letting the thing die, I think. 

Christian

In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and kind.
In speaking, know how to keep your words.
In governing, know how to maintain order.
In transacting business, know how to be efficient.
In making a move, know how to choose the right moment.
-- from Tao Teh Ching, Ch. 8

I'm still learning.