In the excellent thread about minorities, I mentioned other factors that made me decide whether or not to take our young son to an attraction/museum/event. Here's my list. Not all of this was conscious; women tend to judge without explaining why, but if you ask, we can quantify what we're looking for:
1. Is the area safe? Men sometimes underestimate this. I know there are a lot of great trains around Stockton Tower. My going there alone, however, especially with a small child in tow, would have been begging for trouble of some kind. Safety from assault or other crime may not be the first thought in my mind, but it's always there in an unfamiliar area, much more so than it is to most men. This is doubly true with a child in tow. A group of adults may choose to carry firearms, but if there are children too young to understand gun safety, it's not always a good idea. If I'm in an area where women and children are on the street, I know its probably relatively safe. If I'm the only woman in sight, it may not be. If there are no older men around, and all of the men who are out are teenagers or college aged, it most likely isn't.
2. The cleaner the facility, the more attractive it will be to families. It doesn't have to be as spotless as Disneyland, and if you ask me soot doesn't count as dirt and coal smoke is perfume. Are eating areas clean enough to make you use them? The vending machine may have picked up an interesting patina of diesel fuel on the outside, but is the stuff inside reasonably fresh, like acquired after Bill Clinton's presidency? Would a snack bar pass a surprise health inspection by a not too picky inspector?
3. Bathrooms are of little concern to male railfans. Anatomical necessity makes it a tad more important to women. Families have even more trouble in this vein. Real bathrooms, rather than porta-johns, are best. CLEAN real bathrooms are even better. Now mind, the paint can be old and the floors bare concrete; nobody's asking for flowers on the sinks and fancy wallpaper, but is there running water, are there paper towels, are the stall floors free of needles, used...uh, stuff, and other things that would be considered unhealthy?
4. Is there any way for people who use wheelchairs, crutches and canes to get around? It isn't always possible, and most of us who use mobility aids understand that, but it's a nice touch if you can manage. We saw a man about to ask for a refund on tickets he'd bought way ahead at an Ohio Central event once,. A family member in a chair had come along unexpectedly, and they didn't want to leave her out. He was absolutely thrilled to find they had a wheelchair lift. Back in my cane-using days I was about to climb a good-sized flight of stairs when an alert staffer politely asked me if I'd like to use the elevator since he was taking some stuff up. Yes, thank you! Most of us don't like to cause a fuss, but if you offer help, by golly we'll take it--and it speeds things up for fully able people behind us.
5. If someone on your staff is especially good with kids, it's good to have them in the jobs, and on the shifts, where you expect contact with children. Not everyone is socially adept, and I don't think we should all have to be, but fergarshsake if you have a choice, don't put the antisocial guy at the front desk or the woman who can't stand old people in charge of escorting the senior bus tour. Forget political correctness; that's common sense.

Amen Becky. Hope you were not offended by my attempt at tongue &cheek or dark humor. Your responses are right on. Use common sense rather than theory based on social or political correctness. Good to point out the different perspectives of men without families versus family.

I work in nursing homes as a nurse. We are often caught between management, corporate and state perspectives yet are supposed to never make a mistake and always remember dignity and be compassionate to our residents. A fellow nurse made the comment "if the nursing home {we both worked at then}would spend half the energy running a good nursing home as they did trying to convince the public that we were running a good nursing home we would all be happier". I know this may seem "out there" and off topic, but the essence is the same. Stop trying so hard and just do it. You will never make everybody happy, but put out a good product or service so there is a draw for people who come.

I like your common sense way of putting it in writing. Cheers, John.

No offense here. There's no better way to engender hostility than to take someone truly unqualified or, worse yet, uninterested and make him or her do work someone else desperately wants. It doesn't matter if you shove someone out front because he's the boss' son or Martian-American or a Caublinasian wheelchair user--if you're looking at what the person is, rather than WHO s/he is, there's gonna be trouble.

Side note: even though my back is 90% better now, I'm almost glad it went out the way it did. Having even a temporary mobility problem gives you a whole new perspective on how far you ask people to walk, how steep steps are, how hard it is if the gift shop door faces the prevailing wind and you're trying to push it open with one hand while holding a bag of souvenirs and a cane...

Another thought: if your volunteers have some small but trustworthy kids, turn them loose in new kid-oriented displays. If they can't get into trouble, odds are it's safe. They'll also let you know what they can't see well and where they're tempted to climb to get a better view.

"Attracting families": One event that's not for all railway preservation entities, but is guaranteed to have your site hosting large numbers of families with small children is to host Day Out With Thomas. It's a major project, it takes volunteers away from car restorations and track repairs, but it really draws the crowds. In our case, we had streetcars and a caboose train running so our visitors would have even more rail travel experience to go with their Thomas trips. It was most gratifying to see the trolleys going by with passenger loadings like rush hour in the old days. Many of our guests who brought children to see their TV "hero of the rails" said, "We didn't even know this place was here." or "We knew about it, but when our grandson wanted to see Thomas in person, it got us going on making the trip."

If you have showers at the museum for volunteer clean-up, make sure that you have similar facilities for your female volunteers. This investment will go far to encourage women (wives and others) to get involved at the museum and participate in all manner of activities.

Your male members appreciate the ability to clean up before going home or out for diner, etc. The same should be available to others.

As a new father, I have a little more sympathy for the concerns of traveling families than I did a few years ago.

One thing that has helped me out a lot is a diaper changing station, and not just accessable in Women's rest rooms since many times I'm on a 'Boy's day out', especially if trains are involved. They should also be listed with signage as well. During a recent trip, my wife ended up changing a diaper on a cramped bathroom counter, only to find out later that the restroom around the corner had a full changing station. I understand that these take up a little extra space and may be hard to incorporate in an already cramped bathroom on a passenger car, but think about the alternative - changing a diaper on a coach seat with historic upholstery, and the possibility of having an 'accident'.

Stoller access is also very important, especially when touring exhibit halls or grounds. And if there is a place where a toddler can wander and 'explore' on their own without the parent having to stay within arms reach 100% of the time, it's even better. I recently went to a museum with a very large exhibit hall. All of the exhibits were either behind glass or off the ground enough so that my toddler could not get into anything harmful to either himself or the museum. Since we were there on a weekday during the off season, I was able to let him burn his energy running around on his own, keeping him within sight but otherwise able to take time for myself reading the displays.

I also recently took him to a cave where all tours were guided and close clearances made strollers and backpacks forbidden. My wife and I took turns carrying the restless child during the 2 hour tour. Although there were a few points where we could let him walk on his own (usually by holding his hand), we spent most of the time arguing with his need for independence. The cave was spectacular, but it was hard to enjoy and in hindsight I should have found a more 'family friendly' activity instead.

I can sympathize with the cave problem. Try backpacking a wildly enthusiastic three-year-old through Monticello! He was fascinated by the inventions, which made the guide mad. She wasn't up for questions.

Something to consider if there's only room for one public restroom or if a rebuilding budget allows for a spare is to designate a "family restroom". I was surprised to find that most users weren't parents with opposite-gender kids, but older couples where one needed help (getting up and down, clothing, medical needs) from the other. And yes, those diaper changing things are wonderful--wish they'd been around sooner. side note: if you need to pull a quick change on the road, the best spot is the trunk of your car. The baby can't roll away, the surface is usually high enough up not to strain your back, there's WAY more room than if you try to lean into the back seat, and in case of Condition Brown the diaper stink stays back there.

We constructed new restrooms at the depot in campo and put in three rooms: 2/2 for men; 4 for women and a family bathroom. Behind the family restroom is the cleaning and supplies closet. It came out great.

Might consider all doors opening out to the outside and making all Family restrooms.

At least two of the restrooms at my "home" museum have baby changing tables; I've even seen them in Orchard Supply Hardware store men's rooms. Bob Dylan was right, "the times they are a-changing."