Finding staff that can balance the safe operation of a railroad with positive interactions with the general public. Professional railroaders don't always make the best tourist operation employee nor does the railfan who is more enamored with watching the equipment and/or discussing aspects that the general public could not care less about. The conclusion: a consistent training plan with your staff that reinforces safety and service.

And in the 1950s and 1960s that was a decent enough plan. 6 decades later, not so much.

I disagree. How much market research went into the WW&F in Maine? Seems like it’s more hard work and passion that has built their operation, quickly, into something that we all envy.

I don’t know the insides of the ww&f, or any others. Just looking from the outside and saying the hard work, passion, and vision needs to be there.

One thing that ww&f DOES have is a clear vision. They are rebuilding a specific line. That narrows down the projects that they should and shouldn’t take on. From my experience that is what can slow organizations down. Should we do this? Or this? And then groups or individuals argue over projects until someone quits and then nothing gets done.

Zero. The investors in 1958 only wanted to have a full size "model railroad" to play on hauling freight, and never imagined it would last more than a couple of years.

Then one of their group bought a passenger car, they placed a classified ad in the Lancaster paper offering rides, and the rest as they say, is history.

So the bottom line is that they fell ass first into the perfect length railroad, in the perfect location, at the perfect point in time, with no plan at all.

But apropos, they did not expect much either. I am guessing if the passenger boom never happened, they would have enjoyed themselves motoring the Plymouth switcher back and forth on weekends. I think WW&F falls into this category.

You: if you just want to build your own railroad for your own pleasure and experiences, Go! (see Ohio Central). If you measure success by growth and cash flow, then all the previous statements are very important.

To be clear I wasn’t trying to discredit the very good and solid advice from the previous posts. Just trying to add more food for thought that some of the successful operations were by hard work, passion, and luck more than anything.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was initially a place for Paul Merriman and his toys. However, the other members began to formulate an idea of what the museum should ultimately be and started working towards that. The fact that the museum was growing at the same time that the Southern Railway Excursion Program was created and growing was a benefit.

That said, our members decided that our museum should be a working railroad operated as such. That informed our future decisions and led us down a path that would ultimately lead to success. That included taking an industrial loan and going bankrupt in the process. Without the improvements that the loan paid for-pretty much all of Grand Junction-we would not have succeeded. That was spoken to me directly by Robert M. Soule himself. Bob was prone to make informative statements at the moment one least expected them, and then only to certain trusted members at that.

Quite the opposite holds true as well... a group of dedicated people can work together for several years, build something with more potential than most groups,
(think own all their property free and clear 20 miles worth) and some asshole slowly runs everyone away rigs an election and drives all growth, people and customer/community support away leaving the biggest shame in railway preservation. But hey he got his little toy railroad where his buddies get to play once in a while. And they didn't have to do the work or pay for it.
Round about way to answer the original question but proving a point that people are the biggest asset/ liability to the success of ANY endeavor.

In now 25 years of trying to answer that question, it's a lot of what's already been posted, and one other factor I'll add but I don't see... simple business skills, which include understanding people, politics, and market. Enthusiasm and knowledge certainly helps, but I've found some of the very best operations have some truly outstanding people in place, many times from non-railroad backgrounds but at least a solid comprehension of the technical issues as well.

Another thing I've observed is that people forget, sometimes deliberately, that this is a highly, highly seasonal business. That requires it's own set of management skills to handle cash flow that varies from drought to fire-hose demand. Some individuals that work in such seasonal businesses, successfully, do rather well transplanted to railroads as they simply understand the public, and the nature of the beast.

And every budding project needs an advocate, that person that steps up to the press, the camera, and the team behind them and leads the charge. Eventually that role may be filled by an organization and formal structure, but on start-up, it invariably involves one key individual forever branded with the plan. If you can't clearly see the advocate, or none emerge, it may be a very good idea that still can't succeed.

TVRM is something of an exception. The founding members included some active railroaders who knew the railroad politics and others who knew the local politics. TVRM has remained active in supporting local politicians who support the railroad, particularly those who have supported the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railroad.

As for type of operation, TVRM evolved into a year round operation. We added more and more trains, especially once we started operating over the C&C. Those turned out to be very profitable-much more so than the NS trips. The lower fares were key, along with the arrangements at Chickamauga. Our dinner trips were VERY popular-the train was the transportation to and from the dinner. The dinner was at a local attraction-either the historic Lee and Gordon's Mill or the Gordon Lee Mansion-much more memorable than eating in a cramped dining car. The Mill was a pre-Civil War grist mill that has been restored to working condition. If the miller was on site, the miller would open the raceway and put water to the turbine-this mill was built as a turbine mill due to the lack of elevation necessary for a water wheel. The mansion was built by the mill owners in the 1840s and has been restored to its turn of the century appearance (1900). The meals were catered by a local banquet caterer who had a good reputation. Our rule was that the conductor was to dine with the passengers and attend to any issues that might arise.

Alan is right about TVRM - they have created a number of trip and event options thanks to their community connections. This allows riders to come back many times and have different experiences each visit.

What many don't know is that TVRM also operates freight operations through its subsidiaries, including switching Volkswagen and Archer-Daniels-Midland at the former Volunteer Army Arsenal facility. This came about because they were in the right place at the right time, and already had good connections with the community. These freight operations provide quite a bit of cash and have allowed TVRM to hire more workers, acquire more land, and invest in the operation.

TVRM has also done very well by continuing to increase their rider capacity, rebuilding coaches and premium cars, which allows them to operate several different operations at the same time. This is becoming a key at operations like TVRM, Strasburg, D&S and others as operating more trains reduces the assigned fixed costs per seat, and justifies more investments in the track, shops, offices, etc.

Basically, it is a serious business operation that practices many of the same strategies as any other company, and one that can change as consumer tastes change.

TVRM, Strasburg, Durango, etc. operate more as tourist attractions trying to “upsell” the premium cars and experiences (I Kinda roll my eyes whenever a group charges money to blow the whistle of the 611... but that’s $$$). Nothing wrong with that, that’s what pays the bills so that I can come for Lerro charters or other special events. (I’m on my way out to Durango to ride the sp #18 next week and I have my tickets for Lerro at Strasburg in the fall, I’m in no way knocking any of these places ha).

It should also be noted how you can have a successful museum that focuses on the mission of a museum. IRM is the best example I can think of. You pay one price and can ride as much equipment as you want to in a day. No extra price to ride in the observation car of the zephyr, etc. IRM, to me, is exactly what a railroad museum should be. A variety of equipment, lots of operational equipment, and the mission seems to be preserve and restore as much as we can, rather than making as much $$$ as we can.

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If by tourist railroad you mean for profit then TVRM doesn’t apply either.

I do agree that IRM is not a tourist railroad, but they are a successful railroad attraction.

Trust me and almost any tax attorney, many or most "non-profit" railroads (and any similar organizations) like TVRM are operated in a for-profit mode. While for legal/tax/incorporation purposes, they were created under the non-profit categories, that doesn't mean they don't try to turn a profit. These organizations have to have money left over after paying expenses so they can re-invest in equipment, make repairs and improvements in their operations and facilities, etc.

There seems to be a big misunderstanding by many what the terms "for-profit" and "non-profit" mean, but some of the largest organizations in the country are "non-profit" and they certainly end the year with far more money than they began the year. The key is that a tax-exempt nonprofit organization cannot pay dividends or distribute profits to members or investors in the organization, while for-profit organizations can. Many non-profit organizations do own for-profit organizations to raise money. Also, some organizations that are owned by groups and companies that provide their owners benefits such as lower costs on products and services, are also established as non-profits.