I just wanted to give a quick public thanks to the Strasburg Railroad. In my opinion, you guys still set the standard for tourist railroads.

Last Saturday, I took my three year son to Strasburg for his first real (non-amusement park) train ride. The hour and a half drive was well worth it, as Strasburg and number 90 did not disappoint for our 2pm ride. The facilities were clean, the stores were nice, the workers were friendly, the coaches were clean and in incredibly nice shape (I found myself studying the details like the recast seat brackets and the window latches), the PA system in the cars was clear and everything was laid out well on site. The ride was good as usual, and my son especially enjoyed the ghost whistle. :)

My dad took me to Strasburg for my first ride behind steam over thirty years ago, and I'm glad that I was able to pass the experience down to my son. You Strasburg people have definitely figured out the right combination for a successful operation and I thank you for it.

My son has been making whistle sounds around the house all week long, so I think it was a good experience for him.

Lord knows I'll get shot at for this one....

I totally agree, Strasburg sets many standards for the Tourist Railroad Industry, however one comment often made, I'd like to add to.

"Coaches are in incredible, immaculate, restored condition" or something like that.

We know this poster is aware of the recast seat and window latches, so not saying him in particular. Let's look at in from the general public's standpoint of the "unknown".

Indeed, their coaches are in beautiful condition and the craftsmanship is something to be extremely proud of. However, I would love to see them publish the fact that they are not "restored" but rather completely rebuilt cars from the trucks up, basically, reproductions (and better built that their predecessors). This comes, as we all know, out of that fact that wood, unlike steel, deteriorates much faster, paricularly from the useage and the overall conditions that wood coaches are presented presented with by any operator, particularly Strasburg. And there is absolutely nothing to prevent them from having to completly tear down and rebuild their cars periodically, if they want the miles they get out them.

However, if you take an operation like SRR and compare it with other operations that have actually have steel or wooden coaches in use (WK&S, BR&W, SFS, W&W, NH&I, EBT, OC&N) the SRR is always going to come out on top, because of their ability to tear down and start anew. Not too many other operations with Wooden Coaches, so hard for that sense of the comparison. I think its unfair that they get touted for "restorations" of cars that are reproductions while other less affluent operations that have actually restored equipment get overshadowed ...and I'm not talking operations like Mid Continent or IRM, we know they have good resources too.

When it comes to presenting this to the average Joe, who knows little about trains, they will set their own standards by the SRR and compare it to every other operation out there. Unkonw to him is the fact that what he saw was a reporduction. It's like touting that the new A1 is a restoration. It's along the same reasons the RMOPA chose not to "restore" the 1223 and 7002 because of the loss of most of the 'original' fabric, vs an operating engine(s) with new materials. It sucks for those who want to see them run, but it preserves the bulk of the original materials for interpritation.

I know, as I said, I will get shot at, himmed and hawed at about how wrong I am, and all that other BS, but I am thinking of the operations that DON'T have the phsyical and finacial resources that SRR has, but can still do a bang up job of actually restoring equipment with a large chunk of the original matieral, that is used daily, vs completly rebuilding it with all new materials.

Again, that said, Strasburg does one hell of a job and my kudo's to them on their outstanding abilities.

Provided one acts responsibly while visiting the Strasburg property, the crews are warm, welcoming, and willing to talk to the public about just about anything. The equipment is well maintained, and the shop tour is worth all the time one wishes to put into it. I would love to see the Reading Camelback put in line for rebuilding, then the C.P. 4-6-0, but for right now, you don't find better than Strasburg, at least not in the main of eastern steam operations. The whole railroad has the confidence of steam afficiandos everywhere.

IMHO what Strasburg learned many ,many years ago is that they're in the entertainment business and steam powered trains happen to be the medium.

They also figured out that the Moms in most families are the critical decision makers of where the family is going to spend its liesure time/money and therefore everything that can be done to make Mom happy ( spotless bathrooms, trash free grounds, easy parking, good signage, kids activities, polite well trained staff, short duration ride, etc., etc.) MUST be done in spades.

Add to that being located smack dab in the center of major tourist draw country and a dedication from day 1 to operating with beautifully maintained equipment AND adhereing strictly to the published timetable and no surprise...... you've got a winner!!!

These factors are infinitely more important than whether they operate restored vs. rebuilt cars...only a few of us in the tiny minority that makes up the foamer world even know the difference...or care.

What's most important is that as an industry we gratefully have one property that does it right in every domain and sets the gold standard against which the rest of us can measure ourselves!!

IMHO-Ross Rowland

The attention that the entire operation gave to the dual board meetings down there two weeks ago deserves another round of public applause, I certainly had a wonderful time down there. Didn't expect it, I think this is maybe the 12th or 15th time I've been down there, but once again, I found new things to look at and do and was thoroughly entertained. Rode the motorcar (sorry steam guys, that's a hoot too) and Linn had a freight train running that was nothing short of a miracle on wheels.

But for the general public factor, here's something new (at least to me). They had 2 - possibly 3 - actual Model T pickup/delivery trucks running around actually working on the site delivering stuff. They could have used golf carts, regular pickups, or whatever, but here's a couple Model T's running around being useful delivering stuff.

If you want to establish era, those REALLY cinch it, and they were almost as much fun as the trains and were getting almost as much attention. BRILLIANT! Once again, I've learned something new from them. If there's anybody else out there using vintage vehicles on site to actually 'work', I don't know it, it may be a first, and it sure made for some great photos and visitor reactions.

Seeing as how so many museums are trying to do the 40's-50's (vintage diesel era) there's a whole lot one could do there, too. I suspect there's just as many if not more antique car nuts than train nuts to foam over.

Not to go way off topic, but an antique bus meeting your train is nice too. There are a number of bus fans out there that actually own and restore them. Since the insurance for carrying passengers on them is high they love an opportunity to show them off. We had a GM "fishbowl" bus complete with a CNJ RR Terminal rollsign parked next to an RDC and they looked good together.

Honestly Junior....who the hell cares whether they are reproductions or not? Only a hardcore purist would complain about something like that, and I doubt SRR is in the business of trying to please appease those types. (Thankfully)

You just can't please some people. People set up Steam Freight Photo Charters, and instead of just enjoying the sight and sounds of a steam engine, you always end up with people who try to complain that the engine isn't pulling ERA-SPECIFIC cars.

When I was stationed in the Army in Maryland, I had a couple of friends come out to see the area, and I took them all to the Strasburg. One summed it up well after we left, “Wow, I understand why you like riding these old trains so much, that was awesome!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that not all tourist operations were like that. I live on the opposite coast now and live near more than one excellent tourist operation. But I deeply miss those trips to SRR that I probably made every other month or so. I never got tired of the place.
Strasburg is a “perfect storm” within the preservation/train ride field. They have a large tourist base due to the Amish presence, the Pennsylvania RR museum (and amazing facility in its own right) right across the street, a station right out of some Disney movie and equipment that looks like it just rolled out of the factory. None of this was an accident. I don’t know if the original plan was for what you see today, but a clear focus on what they wanted and an obvious adherence to it led them to what is today one of the finest tourist train rides in the United States (even if it’s nowhere as scenic as plenty of other runs). But in my mind, their FOCUS made them what they are now. Yes, they have a rip track, but it’s not a RR junk yard. You get the feeling of boarding a train at a rural station in the early part of the 20th century, not an unkempt 1980s freight yard with a steam engine (if even steam) coupled to coaches that look like they just got pulled out of the scrap yard and blasted with rattle cans.
I know less than nothing about the behind-the-scenes operation of the SRR (other than the history of the line book I bought the first time I went there), but they have seemed to avoid the trap of grabbing every unrelated piece of equipment out there then watching it rust away within sight of the public. The public walks around the SRR grounds and sees a common theme. The plan is evident, reaching within the group’s grasp and well-executed. To me, it’s the best example in the US of the British “heritage railroad” concept. It’s the standard by which many (if not all) American tourist RR’s could be judged.

You are correct, p51, they do an excellent job at interpritation. My point is not about that, nor is it about the quality of their equipment, craftsmanship or business practice - that is all unsurpassed and obvious.

My point, which apparently eluded people, was;

There is a difference between what the SRR does -which is BUILD new passenger equipment from the ground up, therefore taking away the "restored" aspect of the equipment but touting it as restore and the various other short lines that actually RESTORE equipment, using a large bulk of the orginal fabric, and do it well.

I never said that ALL tourist railroads do a bang up job of keeping and presenting equipment in top notch condition, we all know there are more graveyards out there than should be, but it is a fact, (and I have PERSONALLY experienced this) that the GENERAL PUBLIC compares any railroad operation to the Strasburg. I had a comment passed to me one day while WORKING IN SERVICE on a ALL VOLUNTEER operation that had just spent THOUSANDS of dollars and man hours restoring the interiors of their coaches that, "yes it's nice, but it's not like Strasburg, have you ever been there?"

That's a slap in the face. It's like I said, if all these operations had the financial resources to do as the SRR does, it would be great....but they don't and can still do just as nice a job, but don't get the credit.

You cannot tell me that ANY of you would gladly gloss over seeing an authentic item for a reproduction item, just because the repro is done well and publicized well (though in said pulications to be of historic fabric). You'd call that cheating you out of your money.

Again, I am not calling SRR cheats, they are indeed able to and HAVE to do what they've done over the years with their coaches, but there is now way you can tell me when your butt is sitting in that Parlor Car or the Diner that you can say it's a true restoration, when both were constructed from coaches in the 1990's. Indeed, they are EXCELLENT reproductions and you get your money's worth out of the operation for sure.

I guess it all comes down on how one interprits the definition of "restored". While it means to recreate, it also means to put back into original state and probably 80% of the general population see it as using a majority of the original fabric.

Junior, I think we understood what you were saying, in that Strasburg builds/rebuilds new equipment to suit their operation (instead of doing a normal restoration on a piece of equipment), but I'm willing to bet that most of us don't really think that this matters in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, if you were talking about a historically accurate museum presentation, it would matter, but we're talking about a tourist railroad for the general public, which serves to give people an enjoyable train riding experience and has been shown to get many young people interested in the greater preservation picture.

Again, as the original poster, I thank Stasburg for their operation and the ability to keep it dynamic enough to adapt to what the public wants over the years. In a few years when my son is old enough, I will definitely take him on the shop tour, since he loves to "help" me work on things in the garage and in the house.

There is nothing stopping anyone from rebuilding newer steel coaches from the trucks up except money. And Strasburg made their money by being excellent at everything they do. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Strasburg is good at all they do, yes. But to say they are the best "hertaige RR" is stretching it, I think.

I've never seen historical photos of a CN steam engine pullling B&M coaches in any part of Lancaster County. And all the tourist-y and souvenier shops at the station area tell the story of what they are. A tourist RR. Nothing wrong with that, and they make a good living at it.

But I've been to other RRs that have been far more historical than Strasburg any day of the week. My personal favorite was the Bellows Falls operation of the Green Mtn. Real station in a real RR town... a locomotive that "fits" with its surroundings, and the presence of actual freight operations in the depot are and on the main line. And yes, I'm aware of the Strasburg's recent freight business, too.

What Strasburg is, is a class act.......

They also do some form of interpretation (as well as interpritation apparently)....but not of the exact experience a commuter to Leamon place might have had in 1932, but of an experience somebody riding a branchline steam train in pleasant American countryside might have had, only cleaner. EBT isn't far away, and comes much closer to the "real" experience, and is becoming a class act of another kind of play in its own right now thanks to the synergy of the evolving management and the increasing credibility of the Friends.

CSRM is fine, and as fine but also very different is Railtown - one is exhibits and a demonstration train ride with the quality of the exhibits the primary attraction, the other is a place where not much but obsolete railroading happened until the entertainment industry accidentally preserved it by continuing to use it.

In both sets of comparisons, the "real" thing stayed real because of the historic lack of development pressure that also has current real implications in terms of its financial success as a tourism venue.

Nevada Northern might haul in crowds if it were located in Las Vegas. It might find casinos more dependable than historic railroading, too.........

The sword is at least double edged, guys........and we have to find the balances and juggle our business plans accordingly. Whatever we decide the "right" mix might be, we have to do it well and provide a positive experience to our visitors as a primary mission, with the rest of the stuff just part of "how". I'm truly thrilled that more of us now seem to be getting it, as shown in the restroom discussion in another thread.

dave

Dave says it best. Strasburg is a class act...and a VERY first class one at that!!

Ross Rowland

Strasburg today is not the same Strasburg of 1978, or 1988, or even 1998. It's very much evolved under Linn's direction to much more of an historical experience. The yellow paint is GONE, and much equipment is now authentically painted and lettered. You'll find the entire experience is more toward that. No, it's not a heritage railroad, but it sure isn't the "My Fair Lady" movie set anymore either.

One of the comments made at the joint meeting between ARM and TRAIN is that tourist railroads, by necessity, are behaving more like museums, and railroad museums, by necessity, are behaving more like tourist railroads. That's at the heart of the decision toward common interest behavior.

Strasburg is very much representative of that evolution, and they are not unique. And any railroad museum that is (by necessity) focusing on the visitor experience, and whether or not the gift shop is operating to its potential on supporting the enterprise, is similarly evolving.