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RE: (erielack) Archives

Bill Hallstead wrote:

> I don't see what the problem would be in moving the collection
> from Akron  to
> Scranton which is the former "heart" of the Lackawanna anyway. At
> least in
> Scranton it is in "home" territory

I sometimes forget that the EL ceased to exist west of Hornell.  Erie
Railroad?  Must have been a regional or a shortline.  So, using this logic
of "heart of" or "home territory", we should simply find the midpoint.
First, let's look at home territory.  I'd say "home" is where you are based.
We all have a home.  It's our headquarters.  Ah... it's all becoming clearer
now... that would be Cleveland, headquarters of the EL (after all, we are
talking about the ELHS collection).  It's about in the middle.  We can do
"heart of" by milepost or we can do it based on today's highway system.
Using the highway system and a quick hit on Google Maps, the distance
between Croxton and Chicago is 785 miles.  Therefore, the midpoint is 392.5
miles.  Which, ironically enough, is Niles, Ohio.  For you guys out east,
Niles is a city in Ohio, located a few miles west of Youngstown on the 1st
subdivision of the Mahoning Division.  Youngstown was a city that made
steel.  Lots of steel.  And a lot of money for the EL.  The EL passed
through Niles, there was a yard, Republic Steel was there, a branch line
origination, lots of local industry...  Seems pretty ideal.  And, luckily
for the guys out east, Niles is a mile closer to Croxton than it is to
Chicago.  Sounds fair, right?  I mean, after all, I am thinking about the
"heart" of the Erie Lackawanna, not just one or the other.

OK, that was all tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, but there is some truth behind it
based on some of the criteria list members have put forward.  Isn't it
enough that the board has told us what is going on through the Extra Board?
That's every 3 months.  Do people expect to be told of every phone call,
meeting, email, letter, fax or whatever else the board does?  They will
never get anything done if they have to do that.  I think it is pretty
evident they are doing their work.  Do people think they are going to wait
until May 29th, load a truck at Akron with the ELHS collection and ask
themselves "Now what the hell are we supposed to do with all this stuff?"  I
am a Cleveland native and lived in Akron up until 5 months ago, the archive
was a 5 minute drive.  I went a bunch of times.  If I still lived there and
it moved to Scranton or wherever the board deems necessary, then so be it.
As long as it is accessible, cataloged, and on the road to reasonable
digitization is what matters most.  If that means staying at Akron, ok.  If
that means Cleveland State in the Special Collections Library, so be it.  If
it means Scranton, I guess I'll quit the ELHS and join the Pennsy society...
Ok, that's a joke.  Scranton would be fine too.  There's no place for
territorial pissing contests or "my railroad is better than your railroad"
chest thumping.  How ridiculous is that?  How old are we that we resort to
that sort of reasoning?  Next thing you know the Lackawanna guys will be
suicide bombing Erie guys, yelling out as they ignite their bombs
"Lackawanna management was better than Erie management!"  And then Pennsy
guys will have to come in as a peace keeping force.  Anyway, what was I
talking about?  Oh, geographic convenience would be great for all.  But it's
not going to happen.  Some one is going to be far away, and thus, ticked
off.  Would guys in NJ like it if the archive was placed in Huntington, IN?
Probably about as much as guys that live in Huntington would like it if it
was in Scranton.  I live in the south now.  No matter where it is located it
is going to be far away.  But the internet is eliminating borders.  And
that, to me, is the most important criteria - where does our collection
stand a chance of being digitized, and made accessible electronically, best?
And what location has the capacity to fulfill member requests?  Not that it
is central to some geographic part of one railroad or the other.  After all,
it is the ELHS collection, not the L or E collection.

Have a nice day,
Steve

> -----Original Message-----
> From: WFHIV_@_aol.com [mailto:WFHIV@aol.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 PM
> To: erielack_@_lists.elhts.org
> Subject: (erielack) Archives
>
>
> I don't see what the problem would be in moving the collection
> from Akron  to
> Scranton which is the former "heart" of the Lackawanna anyway. At
> least in
> Scranton it is in "home" territory and under the care and
> vigilance of someone
> who knows what it is. And Pat McKnight would be a great person to
> look after
> it.  That's my "two cents" worth.
>
> Bill Hallstead
> <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now
> offers free
> email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at
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>
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