http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story126656.html
bobyar2001@yahoo.com

I'm vaguely disappointed in VA if they can't get 350 railfans to purchase the plate. In Pennsylvania, the RR plates (with a G. Teller painting of a K4) is far and away the most popular "specialty" plate, and it costs $20/yr to renew.

mrwowak@yahoo.com

If they can't get 350 people in the Roanoke-Salem area to buy the plates there is something wrong. Not only is the PA plate the most popular specialty plate in PA, but the RR Museum of PA at Strasburg is the most popular and most visited site run by the State Museum Commission.



v-scarpitti@worldnet.att.net

State specialty license plates are a tricky business, not something to generalize upon. We had a railfan in Maryland's MVA design a NRHS plate, but couldn't find the 50 or so they needed to start production. Meanwhile, the lowly Baltimore Streetcar Museum has a terrific plate that has sold, but not the B&O Museum. (Consider how many divided loyalties could be created--do I, for example, get the NRHS plate, the Streetcar Museum plate, the Chesapeake Bay plate, the ham radio call-sign plate, or something else yet again?)

Are you telling me that the RR plate in Pa. costs extra money PER YEAR now? When I was in Pennsylvania, special or vanity plates cost a one-time $20 (later $25) upfront fee--which explained the popularity of vanity plates (allegedly the highest percentage of vanity plates in the nation, just above a far more expensive California). There was also, as I recall, an aggressive marketing campaign for the RR plates among such places as the RR Retirement Board (read: old guys with lots of money and a big luxury car at last) and railroad employees (look in any RR yard parking lot for proof).

In Maryland, by contrast, special plates actually cost much more--try at least $50 plus an extra $25 per year! Even ones benefitting nonprofits (the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, for example) are extra money up front, with not that much more money going to the "beneficiary". I'm sorry, but I can buy a heck of a lot of 611, N&W, NRHS, VMT, PRR, or whatever bumper stickers or window decals for that much money.

I don't know what Virginia's terms for the plate are--but don't write off Virginia railfans just because of a license plate's failure to sell.

First article of the series
lner4472@bcpl.net

Must be a different railroad. This longtime railroader drives a battered 1988 pickup, whose box got so rusty it had to be replaced with a wooden "hillbilly" variety. No vanity plates either.

State specialty license plates are a tricky
> business, not something to generalize upon.
> We had a railfan in Maryland's MVA design a
> NRHS plate, but couldn't find the 50 or so
> they needed to start production. Meanwhile,
> the lowly Baltimore Streetcar Museum has a
> terrific plate that has sold, but not the
> B&O Museum. (Consider how many divided
> loyalties could be created--do I, for
> example, get the NRHS plate, the Streetcar
> Museum plate, the Chesapeake Bay plate, the
> ham radio call-sign plate, or something else
> yet again?)

> Are you telling me that the RR plate in Pa.
> costs extra money PER YEAR now? When I was
> in Pennsylvania, special or vanity plates
> cost a one-time $20 (later $25) upfront
> fee--which explained the popularity of
> vanity plates (allegedly the highest
> percentage of vanity plates in the nation,
> just above a far more expensive California).
> There was also, as I recall, an aggressive
> marketing campaign for the RR plates among
> such places as the RR Retirement Board
> (read: old guys with lots of money and a big
> luxury car at last) and railroad employees
> (look in any RR yard parking lot for proof).

> In Maryland, by contrast, special plates
> actually cost much more--try at least $50
> plus an extra $25 per year! Even ones
> benefitting nonprofits (the Chesapeake Bay
> Foundation, for example) are extra money up
> front, with not that much more money going
> to the "beneficiary". I'm sorry,
> but I can buy a heck of a lot of 611,
> N&W, NRHS, VMT, PRR, or whatever bumper
> stickers or window decals for that much
> money.

> I don't know what Virginia's terms for the
> plate are--but don't write off Virginia
> railfans just because of a license plate's
> failure to sell.


bobyar2001@yahoo.com

> Must be a different railroad. This longtime
> railroader drives a battered 1988 pickup,
> whose box got so rusty it had to be replaced
> with a wooden "hillbilly" variety.
> No vanity plates either.

Yeah, not only a different railroad, but note that I said RETIRED railroaders. Actually, I recall Doug Riddell once explained in one of his columns (either online at Trains.com or in Rail News or PTJ) exactly why railroaders specifically preferred great big cars. I don't remember the specifics, but it may have involved either the ride after eight to twelve hours on a hard-on-the-posterior locomotive, the general pothole or road conditions on railroad property, or some such combination.

In my particular case (since we were talking Pennsylvania license plates), we were talking ex-PRR and Reading territory (with some D&H thrown in). Almost without exception, if the person driving a car with a Grif Teller PRR plate is an older person, he's driving either a new American-by-gawd luxury car (Olds, Caddy, etc.) or an even bigger older version of same. And my personal experience is that you'll see those predominately in older railroad towns like Altoona, Scranton, Allentown, Harrisburg, etc., and after thirty to fifty years of the railroads' perhaps semi-brutal employment, he's entitled to his cigars, his Caddy, and his cognac, thank you.

If it's a younger person with one of those plates, on the other hand, it's either a rail enthusiast (any car possible) or a current railroad employee (look in Enola or Altoona, and it'll be a pickup with a gun rack or boat-trailer hitch as often as not). And, once again, the incredibly high numbers of Pa. RR plates you'll see in a railroad's parking lot today leads me to believe that Conrail and the RR Retirement Board must have promoted those license plates.

Please, no flames of righteous indignation--this is all humorous observation, and I have plenty of people who'll back me up on this!

LNER4472@bcpl.net

Come on Sandy, I got one of those plates and I drive a Chevy. (But my other car is an Altoonian)



v-scarpitti@worldnet.att.net

I work for a parking lot, and I do see a good deal of the PRR plates. In Philadelphia, I see them on a lot of Audis and BMWs.

hickassmafia@email.com

If we had a railroad vanity plate here in Ohio, especially one that is as nice as the Virginia plate, and for as reasonable a price per year, you bet there'd be one on this girl's Camaro.

Just Train Crazy,

-Angie

Ladypardus@cs.com

> Must be a different railroad. This longtime
> railroader drives a battered 1988 pickup,
> whose box got so rusty it had to be replaced
> with a wooden "hillbilly" variety.
> No vanity plates either.

> State specialty license plates are a tricky

I currently have the PA-RR plate on my car (at least until I get my new Florida plates) and my car is by no means a luxury car (4 cylinder, 115HP). I gladly payed the $20/yr knowing the money was supporting a good cause.


mrwowak@yahoo.com

...Besides, the standard PA plates are boring and ugly.

> I currently have the PA-RR plate on my car
> (at least until I get my new Florida plates)
> and my car is by no means a luxury car (4
> cylinder, 115HP). I gladly payed the $20/yr
> knowing the money was supporting a good
> cause.

Why can't we go back to the old yellow plates? Or atleast the blues ones are better than that 'thing' on my car. I think I'll be getting that K4 plate soon enough. Now...If there was only a way to 'cut and paste' that N&W 'J' onto my Pa. plate...

Jeff Lisowski
West Chester, Pa

unfunkyufo76@hotmail.com

Illinois does it a little different. Here we have "event" plates that can be displayed up to 90 days prior to the end of the event. Around my part of the state we have plates for fairs, festivals, etc. Galesburg I believe gets one for railroad days.

For the state they get the regular money for your plates plus additional production money for the special plates. Not sure if the event organizer gets any money from the plates.

The trick is you have to keep your regular plates in the car. That way if your stopped they can run them. Used to be they had to manually look up the event plates. I think its a little more automated now.

> State specialty license plates are a tricky
> business, not something to generalize upon.
> We had a railfan in Maryland's MVA design a
> NRHS plate, but couldn't find the 50 or so
> they needed to start production. Meanwhile,
> the lowly Baltimore Streetcar Museum has a
> terrific plate that has sold, but not the
> B&O Museum. (Consider how many divided
> loyalties could be created--do I, for
> example, get the NRHS plate, the Streetcar
> Museum plate, the Chesapeake Bay plate, the
> ham radio call-sign plate, or something else
> yet again?)

> Are you telling me that the RR plate in Pa.
> costs extra money PER YEAR now? When I was
> in Pennsylvania, special or vanity plates
> cost a one-time $20 (later $25) upfront
> fee--which explained the popularity of
> vanity plates (allegedly the highest
> percentage of vanity plates in the nation,
> just above a far more expensive California).
> There was also, as I recall, an aggressive
> marketing campaign for the RR plates among
> such places as the RR Retirement Board
> (read: old guys with lots of money and a big
> luxury car at last) and railroad employees
> (look in any RR yard parking lot for proof).

> In Maryland, by contrast, special plates
> actually cost much more--try at least $50
> plus an extra $25 per year! Even ones
> benefitting nonprofits (the Chesapeake Bay
> Foundation, for example) are extra money up
> front, with not that much more money going
> to the "beneficiary". I'm sorry,
> but I can buy a heck of a lot of 611,
> N&W, NRHS, VMT, PRR, or whatever bumper
> stickers or window decals for that much
> money.

> I don't know what Virginia's terms for the
> plate are--but don't write off Virginia
> railfans just because of a license plate's
> failure to sell.


rrtp@midwest.net