A few weeks ago in the Alco PA string we mentioned the cutaway Alco 244 engine at the New York Museum of Transportation in Rush NY, and as part of that discussion we touched on the hosting of references and links to exhibits at other museums. We also showed where the Tugboat Enthusiasts Society carries a link to it, while most railroad organizations do not.

So a question for you: How many of your museums engage in promotional reciprocity? I don't mean just letting another museum put brochures in the rack at your organization, I am talking here about specifically mentioning another museum's equipment or exhibits as part of your presentation, particularly when they relate to, or compliment, what you are doing? In these tough times are you trying to help out your friends, and are they trying to help you?

If you do this, what have you found to be the most effective way of communicating the information? Do you include it in information placards or wall posters? Do you reference it on your website? Do you include it in any self-guided tour handouts you have available? Or do your docents mention it as part of an "interpretive" presentation.

And as you probably suspected I am directing this question toward encouraging efforts among and between railroad museums to cooperate and help promote each other, and looking for any workable ways the members of this board have developed that help to achieve such results.

PC

I would like to see this taken a step further. How about sharing exhibits - like a traveling exhibit? Sharing equipment when it's easy to move? Sharing special events? Sharing special equipment to move railroad pieces - like a truck and trailer? Sharing ballast regulators or specialized track equipment?

Jim

There are a couple groups in my area that hold "joint" meetings once in a while, but they are just their normal monthly meeting format with the two groups meeting at the same place and sharing an "entertainment" type program. They are all railroad historical societies, they are not museums.

Last spring there was one three-group meeting in the area hosted by the Flying Yankee Restoration Group, the Railroad Museum of New England, and the Downeast Scenic Railroad, that included presentations by all three groups. It was the first time I have seen this format tried locally.

I have not seen many groups in my area promote each others exhibits or events, this is one of the reasons I am interested in seeing if any other groups work together to try to mutually promote their activities.

PC

Here locally, the various rail preservation groups have established a marketing partnership known as the "Virginia's Rail Heritage Region". The state legislature has officially designated the area as such, which will hopefully lead to signage and and help with fundraising. The partner organizations are Virginia Museum of Transportation, N&W Historical Society, C&O Historical Society, O. Winston Link Museum, and Blue Ridge & Roanoke NRHS. Joint ticketing was done for events on "National Train Day" (May 8th) and most of the partners are serving as ticket agents for the Roanoke Chapter's upcoming fall Amtrak excursions. Below is a link to the legislature's resolution

http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/20 ... /fulltext/

cross promoting will help drive people over to you also, so its a good thing to promote the other guy. Museums are not in the marketing competition like some other commercial based companies....

Indeed the museum industry is not like the high volume retailers that are selling the exact same merchandise a few blocks from each other and undercutting the other guy's pricing with sales and price wars. Each museum is unique and has its own exhibits to feature and stories to tell, which is one of the reasons that helping to promote each other in a slow economy is not likely to diminish your own business.

Have any of your museums tried tying together the information presented with exhibits of equipment at your organization to complimentary items owned by other museums? For example, "same builder" or "same railroad" motive power? If so, what means did you use to include that information in your presentations?

Gary, thanks for that information on Virginia's Rail Heritage Region, that is very interesting.

PC

Doesn't anybody remember the Pennsylvania Rail Heritage Trail which was tried about 15 years ago? State subsidized joint marketing and discounted cooperative ticketing, encouraging visitors to meander from one attraction to another, leaving a bit of cash behind wherever they went. I recall the program as explained at a TRAIN conference, but never found out why it was later abandoned or if it actually benefitted anybody apart from the printers who coughed up the brochures.

I think the danger of cooperative ventures is the possibility of a partner to embarrass the whole partnership directly by mistreating customers or providing comparatively amateurish product relative to other partners. It is bad enough that some operators serve to teach people to avoid the rest of us indirectly - but to form a direct connection? Of course we do have a choice of who to join up with in the first place unless it is dictated to us by the people who write the check.

dave

But there is also the possibility of collectively "raising the bar" through learning and interaction with organizations that may have their business better organized and more professionally operated.

PC

The subject of traveling exhibits did come up a few years ago in the ARM's education committee, but the idea didn't take off. Probably costs involved were a big factor.

As for mentioning other museums, one of my docent talks is the 1 of 2 story...a number of cars in our collection are just 1 of 2 that exist of their type and I'll mention where the other one is. For example, our PCC #1000 is 1 of 2 surviving Brooklyn & Queens Transit PCCs, the other is at Shore Line; our Hamburg V6E car is 1 of 2 that came to the US, the other is in San Francisco.

There is more than marketing teamwork going on with the "Virginia's Rail Heritage Region". Exhibits are traveling between the museums, both as loans and for events. 611 & 1218 have both gone to the Link Museum for the "Depot Festival"

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 38&nseq=11

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 21&nseq=33

VMT has loaned it's C&O GP7 to the C&OHS's C&O Heritage Center, and the two organizations are working together on possibly leasing another former C&O locomotive for display.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 360&nseq=2

As mentioned in previous posts, we are restoring VMT's ex-CW Baldwin DS4-4-660, and provide volunteers and "stuff" for special events. For the next joint effort, we will be providing displays for the upcoming "Appomattox Railroad Festival" on Oct. 9th & 10th. VMT, and I think Link, are providing indoor displays, and we are sending 3 pieces of equipment down.
This co-operation stuff is actually working. Who'd a thunk it? .........:)

We have TRAIN and ARM for that, and this list, and our informal networks.

dave