This from Julie Hildebrand, Events Manager at Gullane Entertainment. She can be reached at (212) 463-9623. Julie is responsible for coordinating all North American "A Day Out With Thomas" events.

The way the program works is this: you submit a "Thomas" application to them for consideration. If they feel it's worth their while, you'll get a chance at a date; at the moment they're taking bookings for 2003, with a couple of odd dates still available for 2002. They get 15% of the total event gross, Strasburg takes another 15% for providing the engine and crew, plus a flat rate of $30,000 for trucking the "Thomas" engine to/from your location, plus a per diem for their crew. You also sign a contract that says you'll run the show their way. That part may sound a little harsh, but it's done for consistency and to help you make sure your event is a success.

Strasburg is currently in the process of building three standard-gauge and one narrow-gauge non-motorized replicas, which will be licenced to American Heritage Railways in Colorado, The Illinois Railway Museum, The National Railroad Museum in Green Bay and The Great Smoky Mountains Railway in Dillsboro. Gullane expects that the additional of the non-motorized replicas will allow up to 50 "Thomas" events to take place annually. The live steam "Thomas" engine will still be available from Strasburg.

Finally, they strongly stress the importance of Gift Shop sales as an integral part of the event, and offer special pricing on "Thomas" product direct from the manufacturers, as opposed to the way most of our shops purchase items, through a middle-man distributor.