See: http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20081215/SHE0101/81215062

So, what are the other reasons?

Mistakes like this are rare in all instances in which prop weapons or weapons loaded with blanks are used -- but even blanks can kill, and the rule of thumb with any weapon is to assume it's real and loaded at all times. Even re-enactors, who often modify their weapon or deactivate it from actual live fire are still to never aim directly at anyone -- of course in this instance, it was bird shot from a shotgun. Someone probably used one of their own weapons, brought it from home, or kept blanks in the company of live rounds.

This is poor handling for numerous reasons. The weapon should have been modified (barrel plugged or equivalent modification/replacement rendered) and ammunition checked. It's part of the territory.

Quite often, staged train robberies utilize consumer-grade blank firing weapons and ammunition where barrels are plugged and rounds are inert. If they don't, and if your organization stages these, I would strongly recommend re-evaluating the precautions currently in place. There's no reason live weapons should be used in close quarter scenarios with the public to begin with.

KL

What I find odd is that they are having a train robbry/shootout on a SANTA TRAIN!!!! Seems odd.

Train robberies are not bad if done correctly. I have many fond memories of the train robbery along the old east loop of the huckleberry railroad. I recently walked the old railbanked track, and the props are still out there even after nearly two decades since the last train traveled down that track.

There is a simple reason why this happened. Proper safety procedures were not followed. I have been an active Civil War reenactor for 5 years, and in that time I have never been at an event where a weapons inspection has not been performed before taking to the field. Standard procedures call for inspecting the weapons unloaded to make sure they are in safe working order, examining the ammunition, and loading in such a manner as to make it very difficult to accidently place a live round in the weapon. We use some pretty impressive guns also, including pistols, repeating rifles where authentic, and very large cannons. All of them are capable of live fire. Events like this can provide a great show for the public. something we all need nowadays to generate more business. However, you have to take firearms safety as seriously as your railroad operating procedures.

I will most certainly defer to those who have "been there" and can justify in absolute terms what they're doing...........

But here's my view:

It's been 40-50 years since the hackneyed stereotype of "Wild West train robberies" and "Western" shoot-outs have been the "norm" thanks to Hollywood, TV, etc.

So why in hell are we still doing this stuff?

I know re-enactors aplenty, and I can see the interpretive value of, say, a Civil War encampment along a line. Stop the train, allow those who want to to detrain and walk into history.

But those damned shootouts before a Grand Canyon RR trip? Puh-leeeeze.

We could dress the robbers up as Auto industry or Lending executives to make it more timely.....

dave

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Why do railroads still have train robberies. That's easy... Santa, the Easter Bunny, and Train Robbers all sell tickets. Tourists buy these tickets and the money buys coal, grease, spikes, and light bulbs. If railfans and historians bought tickets in the quantities of tourists maybe we would see something different. I've seen train robberies fill entire trains, require extra cars, and even extra trains. Money is the reason.

I do understand why a tie in with a holiday makes sense as a marketing hook - be it Santa, Pumpkins, easter bunny, whatever - but I know of no national celebration for which a train robber is a cultural icon. I'm not convinced a train robbery will sell anything. I think if there's a long boring train ride that needs to be broken up, it might help as a little diversion - which begs the question of the choice of a long, boring ride to begin with.

Dinner trains, no problem - recreating the romance of fine Pullman style dining during the gilded age. Every man's dream answer to the anniversary gift issue. Murder mystery dinner trains - dinner theatre on wheels, a nice twofer.

Robbers? Unless one wishes to produce an event based on nan historic train robbwery, or as part of a film viewing event for The Great Train Robbery, can't understand the draw.

dave

Well I guess some will just have to agree to disagree. I guess kids don't play cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians as much anymore. I'm only 30 but have pretty fond memories of riding the train at Stone Mountain around 5 or 6 and being scared to death of the Cowboys and Indians riding horses up beside the train and climbing through the cars with their weapons and the staged fights.

Trust me, train robberies do sell tickets like crazy.

This past summer I would drive by a small tourist line on the west side of Michigan almost everyday on my way to work (and throughout the day). Every time I caught the train, it would be sparsely loaded with maybe 5-10 passengers. It was amazing this place even stayed in business.

Then one weekend they were having a wild-west train robbery thing going on. I decided to go ride the train. What I found was a train absolutely PACKED with passengers. It was quite the opposite of the typical weekend.

The show took place both outside, and inside the train, with actors on horses, and floozies on the train. They gave you jewels and fake money before you boarded the train, that would later be robbed from you. While the acting was not that great and barely badly scripted, it still drew in hundreds of people, and forced them to interact with the actors. As ho-hum as the acting and train ride itself was, the robbery was a total blast.

Everyone wants to know when the train is getting robbed. It DOES draw people. There is no denying that. So we keep it in store for the moonlight runs, but let the Llving history folks teach the real history of the area. Of course there wasn't even a train in our location. But details, shemtails!

[quote="Dave"]I do understand why a tie in with a holiday makes sense as a marketing hook - be it Santa, Pumpkins, easter bunny, whatever - but I know of no national celebration for which a train robber is a cultural icon.

We has something that might qualify in the state of Illinois, it is called "gubernatorial inauguration day". On second thought, that might just be a train wreck instead of a hold-up. ;^)

Don C.

So what you are selling is the Old West, not just a chance to be robbed? Very different thing........

I have heard the soon to be former governor of Illinois might be appointed to supervise the surplus property sales department.....

dave

Folks,

I am old enough to have lived through the "wild West" years of movies and TV.

As far as I know they do not even run old episodes of Gunsmoke on cable TV any more.

If you are a museum and care about history (and you should) then I say leave the shoot outs to the tourist railroads where history is casual to say the least.

While I am on my soap box; I doubt that many rail museums have any equipment, even replicas, that are really Civil War era designs.

I work with a couple of die hard Civil War re-inactors and they worry about how many stiches go into a button hole!

Some of the museums have had World War II programs; that would be more in line with existing equipment (Pullman troop sleepers etc) than using any old thing that may not be Civil War era.

Ted Miles