..... or so said Steve Barry in a Facebook post minutes ago:

Thomas the Tank Engine is stopping by the East Broad Top..............

Confirmed here: http://www.ebtrr.com/thomas/

Well, if it helps get #14 back out on the line, then I can't fault the means to get the results.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

I concur with Mr. Stillwell. Anything that helps draw positive publicity and attention to the treasure that is the EBT is great and if it makes money to help support the operation, so much the better. I am certainly glad to see the newer management seems to be more proactive than in the past.

Best,
Mike

One man's apocalypse is another man's income.



Rob

He'll be at the Heart of Dixie RRM in Calera, AL the next 2 weekends also.
Love him - Hate him.... Thomas income helps pay the bills until fall. He also brings out people who have never been to the museum before.

Honestly and with all due respect, I can see Mr. Mitchell's point as well. EBT is one of the last unspoiled lines that has managed to avoid a lot of the commercialism and unauthentic situations that come along with the tourist railroad business. Kinda like your little sister's first real date. Might not be quite the same afterwards, but in the current state of things, it represents a better shot at survival for the whole.

Mike Stillwell
Buena Vista, VA.

I've always thought (though it isn't a very original idea) that the biggest challenge museums face is getting someone to visit the first time, and ensuring they have a positive first experience. If you can get that to happen, then they might come back a second, third, or even fourth time.

Putting rear ends in the seats and selling tickets isn't always bad.

The most important thing I can say from personal experience is do not underestimate the scale of necessary preparation. Everyone seems to believe that if you host one of these events, you instantly become zillionaires. It takes ALOT of time, money, and hard work to make your operation ready for the experience. Everyone on your team must be on the same page and have the same goals. And if you fail to respect how serious the stakes really are (fail to properly prep your facilities, fail to properly staff, etc.) you can quickly find yourself in the midst of a disaster. Make sure your event ground zero is truly ready long before the hoards arrive. (I hope that they doesn't gamble on parking people in farm fields. If so, pray for a drought!)

This is kind of like having the first pick of the NFL draft. If you get it right, your franchise will soar to new heights. If not, it may set you back years or worse deliver a crippling death blow both financially and in mass exodus of quality employees.

"wrg" is right. Special events can generate a lot of funds in a short period of time. I've done a bunch of them. However, they are a financial risk, and if you don't have your act together on the logistics and marketing, they can turn into a nightmare.

I'll agree that EBT has always kept things "real", which is wonderful.

I was a bit saddened to see how much "suburbia" is encroaching on the railroad during my last visit. The place used to seem like a time capsule Seeing a strip mall on 522 as we left town was a jarring reminder that this was the 21st Century. Of course the folks in that town deserve a nice grocery store too, but it would have been nice if it wasn't right near the tracks. Of course the Strasburg area has had far more changes. On previous visits, seeing horse and buggy traffic was very common. This time around, I don't think we saw a single one.

In any case, if it will help the railroad, I'm all for Thomas doing a visit there. Done correctly (as others have mentioned, it's an incredible logistical challenge), it can generate a nice income.

Not only that, but it brings kids and families out to the operation. Hopefully some of them will enjoy the train and come back again. Anything that gets kids interested in trains can't be all bad. If it takes the little blue guy, then so be it.

Also, while the railroad can be quite a circus while Thomas is there, once he leaves things can return to normal. You don't have to paint the coaches blue, or do anything to you regular rolling stock, so it's not like they're painting the cars in circus colors and putting a fake diamond stack on. Some of the improvements can do lasting good, such as expanding parking and/or improving access to the site.

Don't forget that a big special event is what started the EBT's tourist operation in the first place. The originally ran the train as a way to celebrate the town's bicentennial, and the response was so good they said "Hey, we may be on to something..."

As a museum member who has helped on Day Out With Thomas for several years (often as Sir Topham Hatt's assistant), I can testify on the tremendous amount of preparation it takes. One aspect of DOWT, it gets somewhat easier after a few years of experience, and our museum has a layout that works fairly well for such events. We also have "rail festivals" and even a "historic truck day". Events like this help our cause in a number of ways: They bring out families, they make money to fund projects, and one never knows who might visit the museum for the first time and be bitten by the "historic railway bug." I realize that some of our more "hard nosed" members tend to stay away when that blue 0-6-0 T comes to call, but it's only a few days and it does make a difference.

A Thomas tale: My older daughter usually comes along to help on at least one DOWT day. One year she worked in the Thomas merchandise sales area, and after a day of ringing up purchases by doting parents or grandparents (sometime running to two or three hundred dollars on the MC or Visa) she commented to me, "Aren't you glad they didn't have Thomas when [younger sister] and I were small?"

Now, hang on a minute! I may be missing something here...while I for one am all for drumming up capital to a floundering institiution that needs the bucks by having the Blue Buddy make an appearance or two that just leaves one thing to question. Assume for a moment Thomas will be borrowed from Strasburg. How are they gonna run her at EBT!? I know their are dual gauges at EBT but I always thought that the main run from Orbisonia to Rockhill Furnace was narrow gauge only?
How do they plan on correcting this problem, unless it is I who is mistaken!?

As I recall, there is more than one standard gauge Thomas, and there's a 3-foot version, too.

Sorry about that Bob...just seems logical that EBT get the blue man from Strasburg. Where is that 3ft guy?

If I may interject here, I saw a narrow gauge (I never took the time to actually measure the gauge) Thomas in storage with other 3rd party equipment in Landisville, Pa. in the summer of 2008. I was working for a contractor on the property and never got an explanation for the who, what, or why of it. However, if I recall correctly, the only thing in the cab was a lever to 'operate' the eyes with. I certainly could be wrong, but I believe that one to be a 'dummy'.

-Micah