The Future ?

Wed Oct 15 12:24:37 EDT 2014

Some particular points:

1)     Any member of the NWHS is eligible to present their candidacy to be
on the Board of Directors or an officer of the NWHS. If elected by the
membership any member can than become part of the “powers that be”  and
make decisions that affect the direction of the NWHS. Three BoD members are
elected every year and we are always looking for candidates. Additionally
officers are appointed every year by the BoD from those who step forth and
volunteer to serve.

2)     When you deal with history it is hard to assume that Event B would
not have happened if Event A did not happen. If Event A did not happen
there may have been an Event C that caused Event B to happen. As an example
the N&W chartered the Guyandotte & Tug River (Event A) in 1903 to get from
Clarks Gap to Wharncliffe via Pineville (Event B). By 1907 the route was
surveyed and all of the right-of-way was acquired, but the railroad was
never built. Pineville(Event B0 was developed because the Virginian (Event
C) extended its railroad from Mullens to Gilbert.

3)     The N&W/Virginian had more effect on the development of the Central
Appalachian Region than any other region, but if the N&W had not done it
some other railroad probably would have simply because of the mineral
wealth.

4)     The vision statement does not give precedence to one region or
another, but does recognize the prominent role the N&W/Virginian had in the
Central Appalachian Region, The added statement “and in the development of
rail transport in general” has equal weight in the vision statement.

5)     The attached region map defines the Appalachian Region. In 2009 the
region was divided into subregions. The 2008 Subregions Map shows the
counties in each state defined to be in the Appalachian Region.

6)     In reality the NWHS does not concentrate on one region or another.
We publish what *volunteers choose to produce*. The data items we enter
into the data base are what we find when we open the boxes on the pallets.
It would be difficult to say that all of the mechanical and structural
drawings, photographs, and other data items are regional directed.

7)     I expect that many members have different interpretations of what is
published and we always appreciate members suggestions.

Alex Schust

Moderator:
 http://nwhs.org/mailinglist/2014/20141015.regionmap.jpg

 http://nwhs.org/mailinglist/2014/20141015.Subregions_2009_Map.jpg

*From:* NW-Mailing-List [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] *On
Behalf Of *NW Mailing List
*Sent:* Monday, October 13, 2014 10:16 PM
*To:* NW Mailing List
*Subject:* Re: The Future ?

Marty,
    I will have to respectfully disagree with your interpretation. I feel
that it has been made very clear in the "Vision Statement" that the powers
that be have decided that "Central Appalachia" takes precedence over the
rest of the N&W system. May I remind you, and others, that if it wasn't for
the SVRR many of the towns throughout the Shenandoah Valley, would never
have been and that includes the great City of Roanoke. Again, what of other
cities and towns along the right of way outside of "Central Appalachia"?

*I submit to the members of the N&W HS that the current "Vision Statement"
be changed to read something more along the lines of:*

*“Over the next 20 years we intend to implement the steps necessary to
establish and maintain the Society and its Archives as the recognized,
authoritative sources for information about the history and operations of
the N&W and VGN railways and their respective places** in the development
of the regions along their "Right of Way"*

* and in the development of rail transport in general. As our resources
permit, we intend to put in place up-to-date, proven research technologies
to make our collections available to the wider history and research
communities.” *Take care,
Jimmy Lisle

On 10/2/2014 11:17 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:

My interpretation is that the railroads as a whole will be covered, but
that in addition to the history and operations of the railroads, their
roles in the economic and cultural development of central appalachia will
also be included.  Let's face it, N&W overall didn't have much of an impact
on the growth of cities like Columbus or Cincinnati, but there are multiple
cities in towns in West Virginia and Virginia that pretty much only exist
because of N&W.

So as far as railroad only articles and records, information will continue
to be spread across the entire system, but in certain areas, it will be
expanded to include the railroad's relationship with the towns and people.
I think this phrasing also allows the Society to expand its network,
opening it up not just to railfans but to historians as well.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see what an official source has to say,
but that's how I read that statement, and I don't think it is a major cause
for concern.  I see it as more of an addition than a subtraction of
information.

Marty Flick

----- Original Message -----

*From:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

*To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

*Sent:* Thursday, October 02, 2014 9:59 AM

*Subject:* The Future ?

*"Our second step in moving the organization forward was to develop plans
consistent with implementing the NWHS Vision Statement, which is posted at
www.nwhs.org <http://www.nwhs.org> and says:“Over the next 20 years we
intend to implement the steps necessary to establish and maintain the
Society and its Archives as the recognized, authoritative sources for
information about the history and operations of the N&W and VGN railways
and their respective places in the development of the Central Appalachian
region and in the development of rail transport in general. As our
resources permit, we intend to put in place up-to-date, proven research
technologies to make our collections available to the wider history and
research communities.”  "*

Reading the above highlighted segment from the fourth quarter eTAF, is this
to say that the rest of the N&W is to be ignored? Is the "Central
Appalachain  Region" to be given top priority? What about the Valley,
Piedmont (including areas toward Durham and Winston-Salem) and Tidewater
areas of Virginia? What about the Ohio districts? I somehow feel that this
"Vision Statement" is far too localized and out of line with what we should
be doing.

Jimmy Lisle
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20141015/3de7f852/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 7485 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20141015/3de7f852/attachment-0001.obj>