Only snipping the basics here. If you want more, go to Trains Newswire at Trains.com:

Guess this means it will be awhile before we have another one.

time to run some fundraising excursions...

Any particular reason why the event is in the red

I would be interested in official statements from the organizers re: how this event, and the event in 2009, ran in the red.

My speculation is that both events spent enormous amounts of money bringing in Amtrak trains and out-of-state steam engines, while running most of these inbound and outbound trips on weekdays, when they were sparsely ridden. I doubt most of the inbound/outbound moves in either 2009 or 2011 had even 100 people on them. That is a quick route to losing a lot of money, as anyone who has planned either steam trips or Amtrak charter trains can tell you. I am baffled why the inbound/outbound moves from this summer were done on weekdays - these were almost certainly going to be losers, regardless of what pulled them.

Personally, I strongly suggested to the folks in the Quad Cities that they run these inbound/outbound trips on weekends, and I don't think I was the only person to make this suggestion. Had these trips run on weekends at least one local group in Chicago would have helped with one-way ticket sales, as was done in 2009.

Again, if I am wrong, please correct what I have posted above.

Chris.

The other question is do they owe anyone else? Obviously Iowa Interstate does not believe they are going to be paid thus the lawsuit. Are there others who haven't taken this step - yet?

I hate to be in the rumor business, but rumor has it there is at least one more bill outstanding. If I am wrong please correct me.

Isn't that how they got into the red in the first place? Jason runs a class act, I'm sure he is doing all he can to make good on his commitments.

Perhaps this might be a good time for us to consider what in the model didn't work, and how we as an industry might produce better, more successful events in the future?

dave

Hope everything comes out fine for the Train Festival, Iowa Interstate and all concerned. I am not privy to the finances of TF11 or any of its predecessors. That being said, let's look at some obvious circumstances.

Moving something, ANYTHING over a great distance is expensive and probably the root cause of some of the red ink.

Also, there is the 3751 cancellation. When I heard it wasn't coming, I cancelled my trip. How many others did that? I don't buy into the "it's just a few railfans who were disappointed" argument. When you advertise something big, different and rare then are forced to tell the public it's cancelled, they will react negatively. Even if they don't know what that "thing" is. See also: Western Maryland 734.

There is also the heat. BUT this is the Midwest, in July. It has to be a consideration. That's also the problem with a lot of NRHS conventions in the past. Late June, after the kids are out of school but before the dog days of summer, is a much more appropriate time for this sort of thing. High temperature for Saturday June 25, in Rock Island? 72 Degrees. Saturday July 23? 91 Degrees.

While the days of the big gatherings may or may not be over, I believe railroad events are still viable ventures. After our June 2010 NRHS event closed, after operators were compensated, visiting equipment paid, expenses settled, we were left with a profit of roughly $95,000. If I could have gotten extra cars, we’d be well into six figures.

Dave

As a business person with great respect for Johnson as well as great respect for the Iowa Interstate Team, I find it unfortunate that we have to hear about this as a legal action. The realities of the deal are clear:

Train events like this are a big risk, we all know that and many of us still do it. These events have long term positive impacts.

As risk takers, all parties knew that a deal like this could go either way.

All of us that attended Train Festival (for the most part and excluding those who only ever have negative comments anyway) had a great time. It was hot. It was muggy. We still had fun!

All of us need to remember that we are in a small industry. We all need to remember that we enjoy seeing the QJ's and we enjoy the events that Johnson puts on. As such and as an echo to a comment by a moderator, this page is for historic preservation and restoration. We all need to be VERY careful about what is said here as none of us would want to be sitting in either chair right now. Secondly, none of us would want to be the reason for either party wanting to never be part of anything that includes "railfans" again.

We have a duty here to be respectful of both parties and ensure that neither is hurt.

I am confident, as one who knows and has worked with Johnson in the past that this will be resolved and will be resolved properly. Please be very careful and respectful in any additional postings. These boards in today's world can do as much harm as they can good.

Johnson, keep your head up and Press Forward! I know you are watching!

One of your fans,

JohnE.

Well put John!

It would be interesting to hear more details on the lawsuit. Is this simply a formality for the railroad to protect its legal rights for payment, or is there more to the story? Instead of speculating, some solid facts might be helpful.

As for the heat, that is a big factor. Maybe not for the folks who live in the Midwest, they're used to it, but for those of us from other parts of the country it can be a deal breaker, especially for an event where you plan on spending a lot of time outdoors.

Heat? You mean 91 degrees? It was 99 at TVRM's Railfest on Sept 3! :-o

(BTW: We weren't crazy about it either! Not even close. But I suppose it WAS better than the 9" of rain we received on Sept 5 compliments of Tropical Storm Lee.)

As we have seen IAIS run trains for flood relief, fire departments, and town festivals, I can't imagine that they broke even on any of those. For all the good that TF11 did for the quad cities and IAIS brand, I'm not sure what they are upset about. If that was their expense I can't imagine how much it cost for 765 to come. I think everything sold out or close, so I guess the only thing they could have done is charged a little more or ran more trips. It was hot, but I enjoyed my time, and hope this isn't another nail in the coffin for big steam events

I'd like to second John's motion that we be respectful of all parties involved and not post intemperate comments. None of us are privy to all the facts and thus in no position to make any judgements whatsoever.

As John said,this is an extremely small " industry" and like it or not we're all floating in the same small lake and thus when a storm hits we all must help the others stay afloat till better weather arrives.

Let's wish Jason the best of success in resolving this as soon as possible.

Ross Rowland