One of the Orange Empire members visits here, and is less internet savy, asked me to post the following links.

Orange Empire is hosting the little blue engine the next two weekends. Once again we were able to have one of the morning/noontime reporters from a local TV station come out to the museum and do a series of reports.

See these links:
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE - ktla.com

Thomas the Tank Engine - Orange Empire Railway Museum - 7AM

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE - ON VACATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - 8:00 AM

Thomas the Tank Engine - The Thomas Store - 9AM

Riding with Thomas - 1:00 PM

I visited the OERM earlier this week, only to learn to my shock and horror (?), that "Thomas" is a rolling shell of tubing and sheet metal, created by Strasburg shops! Pretty clever way of seeing that children and families around the country, can get exposure to the little blue dude! It's not steam, but it draws the patrons in, and who knows, but it may make railfans out of some.
The power on the day I was there, was the FP45. Elsewhere on the property is an ex-U.P. Mikado, looking pretty well after asbestos stripping. I'd love to see a real steamer pushing or pulling the "Thomas" trains, someday.

I think there's at least one "Thomas" who actually steams; this subject came up once and it was admitted that a "Hollywood" Thomas was actually more practical--no danger of his young friends touching hot hardware during photo sessions. Also, active steam engines tend to get dirty and greasy--not the image portrayed on TV. If guests ask about the diesel on the other end of the train, I usually advise them that Thomas is English, and he needs a little help dealing with heavy North American coaches (or should I say carriages?). One of the characters in the Thomas series is Cranky the Crane, a presumably crotchety steam derrick who probably gets called out to clear up major "ooops" situations. I learned about this member of the cast when some children saw our Los Angeles Ry electric derrick and said, "Look! It's Cranky the Crane!"

Bob,

I believe you're thinking about the Strasburg one, which is, in fact, an actual steam locomotive.

Not involved with fund raising events to much and never saw any "Thomas the train" movies or cartoons, way to old now. But when I was a truck driver I saw the crowds at the National Railway Museum at Green Bay, Wi as I drove by it servicing my industrial customers in that part of town. Have no facts or figures to share, but for the few days "Thomas" was there it was a steady stream of moms and grand parents with tons of little kids coming and going from the museum grounds. I agree about planting the seed with little kids to get them interested in trains. It can lead to model railroading and hopefully 1:1 scale later on.

When I first got my computer I started hunting boiler repair and the "then" new FRA info on boiler repair. Also started reading about the "Thomas" trains at RR museums as fund raisers. This was around the infamous Y2K time frame. Do not know the particulars and I think the funding/payment has changed some. Also know that it takes a lot of planning and volunteer man hours to make it happen. From what I remember reading it was financially worth it in the long run, but a lot of work both before and after as well as during the event. When the smoke cleared the host usually had a sizable profit to put in the host museums kitty. Is this still a function worth pursuing for those with experience? I tried to offer this as a possibility to a Midwest museum, but was told "it couldn't be done" and the management had no interest in pursuing the idea. Just curious if it is still the good fund raiser it used to be? Cheers, John.

each location has to make their own decision based on local factors.
There have been some museums that have withdrawn from the annual visit, but many still recognize it as a large and worthwhile draw for families.
The effort in preparation is huge.
The event has a life of its own.

The diesel locomotive at the other end?
Oh thats just a "back engine" in Sodor teminology.

The NH&I RR decided some years back that at the end of the event the monies left after paying the heavy royalties etc. did not justify the all out effort on the companys personel it took to execute a Thomas event.

Especially now when you can purchase all the Thomas souvenir items at your local Walmart the cream is mostly gone.

I would guess that for some museum type organizations that don't have much, if any, of a year round passenger business its probably worth a once a year all out effort to put on a Thomas event as what else would they do to raise some net cash flow.

Ross Rowland

Cranky is a crane, but he's a stationary tower crane located at the docks. He's used for transferring cargo between ships and trains. Originally, there were two green, rail-mounted "breakdown train" cranes along with small workers coach. The cranes didn't have faces, and were eventually replaced by "Rocky", a big red rail crane who does have a face. Then there's "Harvey", a small steam locomotive with a crane mounted on top of him (yes, there is a prototype for him) who is usually used for smaller jobs.

Don't ask how I know this. :)

There was a tent that covered, perhaps, half an acre, filled with "Thomas" merchandising crap. Everything was being executed with extreme effort on the part of the museum volunteers. The fact that the face of the locomotive was under a bonnet until the assigned date, tells you something about marketing "Thomas".

I'm ready for a day out with 614, Ross.

While not a suitable event for everybody under all circumstances, one very favorable thing about this event is the fortunate combination of direct tangible cash in hand with the high marketability in terms of getting your face out there in front of the public - and, with proven expert assistance and well produced materials. There are far too many groups unintentionally keeping themselves a secret from their communities and wondering why they aren't getting support. Events like this can help solve that problem while contributing to the restoration and operating fund.

dave

OERM has at least one highway billboard with dates and a large "Thomas" in the center. One of the things I've noticed while on my cross-country trek, is the lack of brochures at rest stops, information kiosks, and hotel lobbies. Really, I'm a railfan, and if I can't find it, who amongst the laity is going to look for it? On the whole, I would say the regional steam museums and edifices I've been seeking out, have been poorly advertised. The one exception might be in Arizona, where brochures for a variety of southwestern rail attractions seem to be in abundance.

I find the different perspectives very interesting all worthy of consideration, including the ideas of complaining about lack of business, but not having brochures out in public places where John Q Public can access them.

I thought I remembered that the whole Thomas thing had kind of lost some of it's appeal to museums as their cut became less and still having the tremendous work load. On the other hand as pointed out the exposure is something else and it should be considered in the pros and con's {in my perspective}. The profit margin from the "DOWT" {Day Out With Thomas} may not be all there anymore, but I would think the family might remember a good time and decide to come back again. Probably impossible to prove with facts and numbers. But the exposure would be huge. Heard of all sorts of rules and regs involved in this, not sure if they would allow you to have one of your own steam engines running in the background?

Maybe I am dreaming here but I think the "county fair" atmosphere along with some real trains would bring some magic to some of the museums that seem to be a morgue for rail equipment. As already stated it might not be for everybody, I think it might just be worthy of consideration just the same. Probably easier said then done for sure, as it sounds like a real project to do from what I remember. But at least look at it and maybe a better idea will manifest.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s Mid Continent was host to a "ATM" {antique transportation meet}. A small dirt airfield right on the line complete with all sorts of antique planes, parking lots full of antique cars along with the trains running as many passenger trains as humanly possible. It was a 3 ring circus, but what a riot of fun it was for everybody who came. It took some leg work and cooperation but it got done and it was truly a crowd gathering event. It worked. You often see people write "think out of the box" and I guess this is my point of looking at DOWT as possibly still being worth while venture or not, or thinking up some other multi faceted event to bring your presence to the public eye.

I saw a post in the #1003 thread that Stephan wrote and I agree wholly with his point about steam engines, call me old fashioned but I think live steam is a big part of bringing people in and getting them to come back with family and friends. Cheers, John.