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We did not contact Pete. As I mentioned above, time and staffing prevented us from conducting a photography event. Safety was paramount. Crews hit their 12 hour limit at 5 p.m. We needed another complete set of crews and another complete set of staff. As it was, we provided an exceptional event but we left many revenue opportunities on the table. During planning, we deliberately prevented this event from getting out of control. We chose customer satisfaction and safety as number one. Adding activities, that we might not perform well, would have been counter to safety and customer satisfaction.
Crews worked 12 hour days for about 10 days prior to unload and prepare and another week to load back up. We are still loading. I cannot emphasize how much goes into an event like this. Adding one or two 16-hour days was a bridge too far.

Once again the folks on this forum don't disappoint in proving why I limit my interaction here. Upset? Ha! Not me. What an accusation! Funny you took my criticism of the expensive contrivances of a chartered photo shoot as a personal attack, yet never once did I mention you nor was it an attack on Mr. Lerro either, just my opinion on the institution of ticketed photo shoots. One user is hounding the event organizers for a Lerro charter, I merely responded with possibilities as to why it was not feasible or why it really wasn't necessary.

As to "confusing" the operator of the night shoot at C&TS, if that person doesn't use flashes and hasn't for years, then why was I, the subject of the photos taken, continually flashed by bulbs on tripods? I was there. I know what I saw. I also never said it was Lerro, I merely used it as an example of what people expect from these events, that was entire YOU making assumptions and inserting your own offense into my words. I didn't say the organizer was at fault, I said the photographers - plural - the attendees - make things difficult, requesting realistically infeasible poses for hours on end and getting upset when, an hour after the shoot was supposed to be over, the volunteers posing for them start leaving because they have places to be and were not being compensated for their pleasure.

As xboxttravis pointed out, you completely missed the point. I was informing somebody who openly professed to have *not* attended the event the reasons why the event was great even without a photo charter they required, from the perspective of somebody who also made financial sacrifice to drive across several states, pay my entry fee, buy items in the gift shop to further support the cause and made donations to several of the organizations represented there, even without having forty years to scrimp and save like you! I'm glad you are financially well-off, but there is a certain hubris to assuming that entirely valid criticisms of the concept of the museum photo shoot charter are somehow declarations against you as an individual.

Go buy tickets to the next charter and calm down, hopefully it will help you relax.

Oprockwell.

I am interested in the behind the scenes to understand how other groups present major events like the Steam Up.

How far in advance did you start planning the event?

Did you have a single planning team or use a committee structure?

How involved was the local chamber of commerce and or tourism board in the planning and marketing for the Steam Up?

Did you have any corporate or individual sponsors/underwriters?

How many staff and volunteers were on duty during the Steam Up?

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Wesley Paulson
National Capital Trolley Museum

I have a question for someone who attended the event.

I have read the NCNG #5 is an oil burner; is the wood in the tender just for show?
She looks really great even if her new boiler is slightly off size! Not bad at all for a girl who dates from 1875!

Ted Miles, Member Friends of Nevada State Railroad Museum

I’ll piggyback that question and ask were there any coal burners represented? I thought it was fun at the Victorian Iron Horse Roundup to see wood, coal, and oil burners represented.

Looks like 4 wood burners (which is amazing) and then at least 3 oil burners, not sure about the Chiggin and the Heisler.

Ted, perhaps I missed the photo that you are referring to. I just took a look at my photos of NCNG #5 and didn't see any wood in the tender in those. I suppose it is possible that someone put a few pieces up there for a photo. It is also possible that the wood you saw was actually in the tender of the V&T #12 "Genoa", which was parked just west of where the #5 was on one of the days. For the record, NCNG #5 is an oil-burner. She and the other oil-burners were burning waste motor oil.

There were 9 live locomotives on site. Four of them burned wood, and five burned oil. There were no coal-burners on the property.

/Kevin Madore

Asking questions = hounding?

I’ve said multiple times that the event looked like it was fantastic and that I’m glad it was successful and well attended. I don’t “require” a photo charter... I made the decision not attend for a number of reasons #1 being the current price of flights, gas and hotels! IF there had been a few more photo ops and special events advertised I would have been swayed to just go ahead and go. That’s me. As someone who is very interested in the planning of events, it seems odd to have planned such a complex event and then NOT add on some special photo events. Easy way to make some money that’s for sure.

I feel like my questions and the answers from the Director have been helpful and give insight to those planning simile events.

Asking questions should ALWAYS be welcomed. It’s how we learn :)