I was at Steamtown yesterday to see the Big Boy reunion. I got the postcard, but hadn’t read the sales pitch. (I also got a trading card and a wooden two tone train whistle.)
What I saw was thousands of people standing in line (over 2 hours for me) to see a historic piece of American history and a railroading legend. I’m going to guess that one day saw more visitors than Steamtown normally sees in a year. The park rangers appeared ecstatic. While it may have been a corporate Trojan horse, it was still way classier and less disturbing than what just happened at the White House.
The tour isn’t over yet; perhaps RPA should be figuring out how to piggyback off it. Just handing out flyers, pamphlets, and trinkets would be a great PR opportunity. I didn’t even try to buy any of the official merchandise because the line for that was another two hours long.
And maybe Steamtown could see a budget increase to do something about all of the historic equipment rotting in place. The turntable and roundhouse exhibits are great, but so much more could be done.
Your comment really captures for me the kind of push-me pull-you I feel over this whole thing.
Of course, Big Boy is cool. Of course, it's a beautiful thing to see actually operating. Of course it brings lots of people out to see that rail is still alive, and could be a bigger part of their lives if they just let it be so. I mean, I was on a work trip when Big Boy went over the trestle at Letchworth State Park so I wasn't there...but my wife, a non-railfan if ever there was one, went *camping* with her sister at Letchworth for two days just to see it. That's the hold it has on the public imagination. I think it shows just how much people want to love this stuff.
But...it is NOT a coincidence that Big Boy makes its way over Norfolk Southern territory at the same moment UP and NS are trying to persuade the public that the biggest railroad merger in the history of the United States will be a great thing. As I’d said last week, disclosures in the UP and NS filings before the STB show they expect to operate 89 new freight trains across places now accepted into the congressionally directed and FRA-led Corridor ID program...that’s the pipeline for future passenger-rail growth, and they’re acknowledging that they expect to send 89 trains over that territory. Remember, Class I railroads always claim that adding even one passenger train will cripple the Nation’s commerce and require at least a billion dollars in additional capital investment. But 89 trains? Nah, don’t worry about...look at this pretty locomotive instead.
Overall, we found 182 new daily trains across all Amtrak routes’ territories, and 29 in important commuter areas like Chicago’s Metra and California’s Metrolink. Whether it’s existing service or planned expansions, the combined UP-NS will have an effective private veto over anything we want to see happen, even if Congress passes a law and funds it to expand passenger rail. I can’t get past that bigger picture, even as I gasp along with everyone else at Big Boy when it runs.
So is there no way RPA can leverage the railroad interest this tour is generating?
Would it be possible to get RPA volunteers in distinctive t-shirts to start showing up at events? Perhaps issue an appeal to members?
They just have to be there and be seen. Having handouts or even a small sign or card with one of those square code things that links to a website would work.
I was at Steamtown yesterday to see the Big Boy reunion. I got the postcard, but hadn’t read the sales pitch. (I also got a trading card and a wooden two tone train whistle.)
What I saw was thousands of people standing in line (over 2 hours for me) to see a historic piece of American history and a railroading legend. I’m going to guess that one day saw more visitors than Steamtown normally sees in a year. The park rangers appeared ecstatic. While it may have been a corporate Trojan horse, it was still way classier and less disturbing than what just happened at the White House.
The tour isn’t over yet; perhaps RPA should be figuring out how to piggyback off it. Just handing out flyers, pamphlets, and trinkets would be a great PR opportunity. I didn’t even try to buy any of the official merchandise because the line for that was another two hours long.
And maybe Steamtown could see a budget increase to do something about all of the historic equipment rotting in place. The turntable and roundhouse exhibits are great, but so much more could be done.
Your comment really captures for me the kind of push-me pull-you I feel over this whole thing.
Of course, Big Boy is cool. Of course, it's a beautiful thing to see actually operating. Of course it brings lots of people out to see that rail is still alive, and could be a bigger part of their lives if they just let it be so. I mean, I was on a work trip when Big Boy went over the trestle at Letchworth State Park so I wasn't there...but my wife, a non-railfan if ever there was one, went *camping* with her sister at Letchworth for two days just to see it. That's the hold it has on the public imagination. I think it shows just how much people want to love this stuff.
But...it is NOT a coincidence that Big Boy makes its way over Norfolk Southern territory at the same moment UP and NS are trying to persuade the public that the biggest railroad merger in the history of the United States will be a great thing. As I’d said last week, disclosures in the UP and NS filings before the STB show they expect to operate 89 new freight trains across places now accepted into the congressionally directed and FRA-led Corridor ID program...that’s the pipeline for future passenger-rail growth, and they’re acknowledging that they expect to send 89 trains over that territory. Remember, Class I railroads always claim that adding even one passenger train will cripple the Nation’s commerce and require at least a billion dollars in additional capital investment. But 89 trains? Nah, don’t worry about...look at this pretty locomotive instead.
Overall, we found 182 new daily trains across all Amtrak routes’ territories, and 29 in important commuter areas like Chicago’s Metra and California’s Metrolink. Whether it’s existing service or planned expansions, the combined UP-NS will have an effective private veto over anything we want to see happen, even if Congress passes a law and funds it to expand passenger rail. I can’t get past that bigger picture, even as I gasp along with everyone else at Big Boy when it runs.
So is there no way RPA can leverage the railroad interest this tour is generating?
Would it be possible to get RPA volunteers in distinctive t-shirts to start showing up at events? Perhaps issue an appeal to members?
They just have to be there and be seen. Having handouts or even a small sign or card with one of those square code things that links to a website would work.
Oh no, not at all. We should be there...next step is finding enough volunteers willing to step up and do it. That's a process we can start.