I 'spose I need to come in out of the wilderness on this one.
Overall I think Mr. Butterworth is spot on across the board. I was very careful when I wrote the forum description:
"
This is a forum for the discussion of narrow gauge and steam railroading with a primary emphasis on railroads operating in the US. ".
And he has done a good job of emphasizing my intent(s).
That being said, he does point out a problem; it was never my intent to imply that we should focus solely on railroads
currently operating. The history is as, or more important than, the present and any impression I may have given that historical topics are off limits is false.
But as John West, points out, the D&RGW, SPNG, Uintah, White Pass, West Side Lumber company, EBT, Tweetsie, Sandy River & Rangely Lakes etc. etc. etc. were and / or are all North American narrow gauge steam railroads, and any information relating to them is therefore fair game. And the Talyllyn Railway, the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways are both steam and narrow gauge and are also fair game.
I could go on, but I think you get the drift, topics should not necessarily be limited to the past, present, or future of any given institution.
Realistically though, the makeup of the forum will depend on the people who post to it. If enough historians come to the forum and post, we'll have a forum more rooted in history, which will draw more historians who in turn will contribute and the forum will be more centered on historical topics. Similarly If historians don't post, other people interested in history will stay away, and the balance of the material will shift away from history. The same holds for other topics, if there are a lot of people interested in the C&TS, the C&TS will dominate the discussion.
But overall, I don't think we've drifted too far afield at all. However I would like to remind everyone that:
Quote
From the "About the NGDF" thread on the main menu.
Access to this forum is provided free of charge to anyone interested, however, in return, we require that all participants act in a civil and cordial manner toward other posters.
I hope that answers any questions, so I can go back to my flat rock in the wilderness.
Don
