Author Topic: preservation and hokum  (Read 30941 times)

Wayne Laepple

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preservation and hokum
« on: December 20, 2008, 11:42:19 AM »
I'm posting this commentary by the executive director of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada. If you take the time to read and think about what he's got to say, I think you'll agree there are some ideas we might want to adopt for the WW&F. I'm not suggesting train robberies or Thomas events, but there are things we can do within the context of our little railroad to get more visitors and more of their money to support our primary interest in rebuilding and preserving the heritage of the WW&F.

I've got my asbestos suit ready. Here's the link: http://nevadanorthernrailway.net/throttle/throttle013008.htm

Ed Lecuyer

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preservation and hokum
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2008, 11:59:24 AM »
I think we already do this (to a limited extent) at the WW&F:
- Halloween Trains
- Victorian Christmas
- Spring Equinox

It's a balance. The WW&F didn't run through the "wild west" so shoot outs and robberies make no sense with us. I'd like to see us do more things like the Victorian Christmas - maybe with more vintage decorations, circa 1910. I could also see us doing events like a "pumpkin patch" in the fall (take the train to a field, pick a pumpkin, come back.) Maybe the same with Christmas Trees. (Both would require an arrangement with an adjacent landowner/farmer.)

Thomas and the Polar Express have their places - at facilities that can handle them (Boothbay, MNG, etc.) I think part of the charm of the WW&F is "keep it small and simple." I'd rather host 50 families and give them a meaningful, personal event; then herding around 1000+ and pretending that the blue thing on the front of the train is a really useful engine.
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Vincent "Lightning" LeRow

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preservation and hokum
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2008, 06:38:01 PM »
well said Ed.  but the article has a meaningful point...

Perhaps we could look into the christmas tree and pumpkin ideas.  we'd need some luggage tags to mark and claim trees/pumpkins!  How's that for an authentic experience?
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John Kokas

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preservation and hokum
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2008, 09:52:06 PM »
The pumpkin trips are a definite YES.  I did these in PA with a line I ran for several years.  Pumpkin patch trips with a corn maze were almost always booked to the max.  Work this with an adjacent farmer and your golden.

Unless you have a Christmas tree farm adjacent, that will take years to put together along with a good amount of capital money.  The Victorian Christmas is good for now, but I'd suggest a "Polar Express" train to Santa's Place.  Great way for ridership, and book sales at the museum store.  The New Hope & Ivyland does this and sells a lot.......
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Steve Smith

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preservation and hokum
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2008, 07:23:06 PM »
Wayne and Ed, sorry to have wrenched this thread off topic with my reaction to Stephen's photo. The Nevada Northern piece is a VERY worthwhile read, one which I hope will set us all to thinking about activities both appealing to the widest possible public yet related to the WW&F and its locale and history, and doable with the size of our active membership.

Steve



Ed Lecuyer

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2008, 07:45:57 PM »
[Moderator's Note:]
I merged the Victorian Christmas photos & discussion into that thread.
Ed Lecuyer
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Pete "Cosmo" Barrington

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2008, 12:49:28 AM »
There is one thing I'd like to point out regarding the aforementioned events.
I was fortunate to hit both WW&F and MNGRR this trip up, (Victorian Christmas,) but was disapointed that the MNGRR had a FAR more expensive santa train this year, namely the MGM-marketed/hosted POLAR EXPRESS. While assuredly, it's a "class act" and worth the $$ I'm sure, it was WAY out of my family's budget, and the train was booked solid anyway. Dissapinting, yes, but we'd had a great time at WW&F, so, not so bad.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against PE events per se, other that they're way too expensive (like Thomas) for my budget, and the "zoo-factor" is WAY off the scale. I'll even say it may be just what MNGRR needs to survive, but at what cost?
I'm just happy that WW&F DOESN'T do this, that finances there are well enough in hand that the Victorian Christmas need not concentrate on sales/marketing/ticket reservations, etc, and just be what it is: "A special train run for the members and supporters of WW&F to show appreciation."
I actually miss the MNGRR "pre-PE." It was an alternative to the INCREADABLY hokey Edaville and I used to combine the two museums with my thanksgiving trip north. Now? I'll settle for getting a great shot of Monson #4 and be glad I got to enjoy a white Yuletide at WW&F.
In short, I'm glad the two chices exist, but I'll drive the extra miles to Sheepscot for the homeyer, less comercial event.
Happy Yule Everyone!

Mike Fox

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2008, 07:52:39 AM »
Cosmo, that is why I don't visit MNGRR during those times. They are geared for kids and it is a great income maker for them. I would rather go while absolutely nothing is going on to look as I please and spend as much time as I want without being crowded out of the way. But the again, I won't go shopping if it is a day when it will be crowded either. Just not a crowd guy.
Mike
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Pete "Cosmo" Barrington

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2008, 11:32:17 AM »
I hear ya mike.
See, the nice thing USED to be that when the first Santa Trains would run at MNGRR, on Thanksgiving weekend, there was a relatively modest crowd. It was a great way to take my daughter to see Santa and Choo-choo at the same time.
Now? Wouldn't dream of it.

Mike Fox

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2008, 05:06:41 PM »
I'm not suggesting train robberies or Thomas events, but there are things we can do within the context of our little railroad to get more visitors and more of their money to support our primary interest in rebuilding and preserving the heritage of the WW&F.

I've got my asbestos suit ready. Here's the link: http://nevadanorthernrailway.net/throttle/throttle013008.htm

OK. Here are a few links to a robbery story. Why it was done in the first place is beyond me. I mean, who would hold up a Santa Train?
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20081216/SHE0101/812160374&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
http://www.redorbit.com/news/oddities/1611947/two_shot_in_mock_santa_train_robbery/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28252522/
Mike
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Stephen Hussar

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2008, 05:23:05 PM »
Why it was done in the first place is beyond me. I mean, who would hold up a Santa Train?

Well Mike, as a "part time" resident of the midwest, I can tell you from first hand experience that not much ever happens in Sheboygan.  ;)

Ken Fleming

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2008, 06:07:36 PM »
Oh the heck with it, let's "build" a dining car and serve Maine lobster dinners on an evening train. Reservations ONLY. Everything can be prepared "off-train" and served upon leaving Sheepscot.  Menu: salad with house dressing or cold slaw, 1,2 or 3 steamed Maine lobster(s)(pre-ordered) (Note: not boiled, but steamed), corn on the cob, small bag of chips, dinner roll, desert - Maine blueberry tart. Selection of cold soft drinks and iced tea.  YUM!  And, no I did not forget the drawn butter.  They do a big business with same basic menu at the Annual Lobster Fest in Rockland.

Service on Saturdays and maybe Sundays - June thru September.  Sure would beat Thomas or shoot'um ups.

I know this not "original", but restoration and preservation takes a lot of money, so lets make some.

A 2-foot dining car is great for couples, one facing one across a nice table, enjoying Maine lobster.

Pop does his train thing and rewards mom with dinner for two on the train.

Steve Klare

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #12 on: December 23, 2008, 07:47:17 PM »
Now hold on thar!

Weren't there supposed to be two foot gauge Diners and Sleepers for the long journey up to Quebec?

(I'd rather see that Porter Consolidation, to be honest!)

A little Hokum here and there is OK as long as it can be shoved into a shed and the doors closed when needed, which is most of the time!

Pete "Cosmo" Barrington

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2008, 10:57:53 PM »
Only problem I can see with that,.... well, TWO problems, actually.
1) Will the ride be long enough timewise to actually consume more than ONE lobster?
2) Do you really want the consist smelling like lobster all year? ::)

Wayne Laepple

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Re: preservation and hokum
« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2008, 03:34:14 PM »
Far be it from me to propose train robberies, fake Civil War battles or full-course lobster dinners on the WW&F! But -- the idea of special events is exactly the kind of thinking the original article about the Nevada Northern was advocating. I know we hold such events at the WW&F, but we seem to do a lot of them as freebies for friends and neighbors. If we truly want to grow our patronage (and our membership), we have to do some things to make money beyond our regular train rides and fares.

Let me give one example. At the little 2.7-mile Wanamaker Kempton & Southern here in Pennsylvania, where I volunteer during the rest of the year, we run our Santa Specials the first weekend in December. It's a conveyor belt operation. We load the four car train and it leaves. As it runs up the line, Santa and elves walk through the train, chatting with kids, leading some songs and handing out inexpensive trinkets with our name on them. (This year, it was a wooden ruler.) The train comes back, the passenger get off and go into the book shop. The next set of passengers gets on. Repeat. We make four one-hour trips each day of the weekend.   

We've been doing this for 25 years, and among our passengers, we have parents who were brought to the ride as kids now bringing their own kids. All eight trains were completely sold out the week before they ran. In fact, we probably could have added another train each day and sold it out, but who's greedy? We charge two bucks more than our regular summer fare for adults ($8) and kids ($4) and we carried 2,500 people in two days. After expenses, we probably netted something like $15,000. We do this with a minimum of costly advertising, relying mostly on word-of-mouth and our web site, and all tickets are reserved.

Other outfits do pumpkin patch trains around Halloween, buying pumpkins in bulk and putting them out in a field along the line where the kiddies can select one. I know of a place that does an ice-cream ride on Friday and Saturday evenings a couple of times every summer, handling several hundred people each time. You go for the regular train ride, and on your return, you get an ice cream cone. In each case, the ride is priced a buck or two above the regular ride cost, which makes it something special. And I hasten to point out that in each case cited, the railroad is at least as remote from large population centers as the WW&F.

There are purists, of course, who pooh-pooh such crass commercialism in a museum setting, but heck, even fancy art museums aren't above renting themselves out for a wedding or corporate reception. Think outside the boxcar!