BLOG NUMBER SIX IN THE SERIES

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ?

People react fiercely to the concept of a national T⁴organization. Look dispassionately at other similar organizational concepts --- especially the very similar situation of national modeling groups like the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) which governs the field of model airplane hobbyists --- we find that those groups which have come together in a national alliance and a spirit of unity have been the most effective and functioned the best.

Every weekend, model plane hobbyists gather. They consist of several different operational factions --- radio control similar to military drones; free flight in which the models are launched by hand to travel freely in any flight pattern; U-control, in which a strong, fairly long cord is attached to the model airplane at one end and to a hand-held grip on the other; and in other events, including aerial combat and Giant Scale, with model planes with operating bomb-bay doors, working retractable landing gear, and variable speed propellers, none of which could have been remotely possible in the earliest stages of the hobby when we were first introduced to it 60 years ago. Even though much of the power and control of AMA has to do with the frequencies of the radio control spectrum --- a legitimate Federal concern --- it is surprising how AMA's interest extends into every facet of operation. The AMA's opinion and recommendations are even taken into account by the Federal Aviation Authority, whose legitimate concerns extend into safety issues at those altitudes where air space for model and full-size airplane conflict, even if only visually. ("Good Gosh, Godfrey, is that a B-17 at two o'clock?")

It is interesting to note that the public model airplane events with the largest attendance tend to be the Giant Scale programs. They are held all over the country and are a significant factor in the promotion of the hobby. Local newspapers reporting the events often pose modelers crouched next to their Giant Scale airplanes.

To provide another, even more compelling case, consider the analogous case of radio amateurs --- hams. Few interests are as individual-focused, as suited to participation by a lone wolf, as the ham radio operator sitting alone at home, seeking to establish communications via their expensive radio rigs to people all over the world. A truly international camaraderie becomes possible .

Arguably the best approach they took, early on in the development of their hobby, was to form the Amateur Radio Relay League, with well-developed regional, national, and international organizations and sponsored activities. The ARRL represents --- authoritatively and intelligently --- the interests and privileges of radio amateurs up to the very highest levels of the Federal government. Amateur radio has become one of the most active and well-recognized hobbies in the world. We should consider how much of that success can be attributed to a supportive organization, with a national publication. Picture the possibilities for a publication catering to mega-scale traction interests, illustrated with the many photographs now stored away in dusty archives, or discarded by the unsophisticated families or Executors of a deceased hobbyist.

Think about the copyright laws, not protective but restrictive, which forbid reproduction of these beautiful images, but prefer that they languish, unseen and unappreciated, in "archives".

I also see many superbly written and published publications which reach only a small fraction of possible readers. How satisfying it would be to carry a stack of NATIONAL TRACTION magazines in the trunk of your car, and hand them out to people we meet in the ordinary course of business or leisure activities.

We do --- arguably --- one of the worst jobs of letting people know about what we do. Photos of trolley meets, of trolley museum activities, of new developments in light rail (particularly in Europe and some of the enlightened cities of the United States) are rarely seen in newspapers or magazines .

I also like the Trolley Module concept. We attended a meeting of local government in Pennsylvania, that was called to decide on use and fate of an abandoned rail line. One of the presenters constructed a model of the line in question. Crusty farmers, officials of the church adjacent to the line, neighbors and housewives, spent almost a half-hour before the meeting was called to order, clustered around the portable module. They could see what the presenter was suggesting, and wound up approaching the presentation with an open and educated mind.

Right now, model traction is a fragmented, even splintered, hobby. The number of regional groups is considerable, and does not have a loud enough voice to bring attention to it.

If a national traction and light-rail organization were organized and run effectively, it might even raise national awareness of municipal light rail, which currently draws a blank stare from most Americans. The opposition to light rail is professional and well-organized, by groups with financial motives and personal gains to achieve .

These opposition groups organize "Transportation Institutes" ---some connected with respectable Universities and staffed by PhDs and Research Assistants --- that are assigned to do almost all the research work on proposed rail transit and its connected funding. They print articles on "Passenger waiting time in Bangladesh as a function of social class" and consistently deny the value of public transit, arguing that you cannot justify public transit without a large base of congested population to support it, basing their case on statistics and calculus.

They have apparently forgotten that the way that early traction pioneers promoted their streetcar lines was to deliberately choose a large vacant area, a long way out of town, and build a trolley line from the center of population out to the PLAYLAND or cemetery that they carefully situated on vacant land. Soon, houses sprang up along the line, obviously because it was so convenient for travel. Furthermore, it encourages substantial healthy growth of attractive neighborhoods.

Ask a Realtor ... one of the more frequently asked questions of professionals interested in relocating to a new city is, "How far is it to transportation to my job? How long does it take to get to (the city center? the beach? my new office? )