Last year the railroad permitted us to make available a designated "mobile web app" which was designed for iPhone and Android use, allowing people to track the 765 -- it was very popular, but had several limitations.

Given the very credible response to our "beta version," we decided to invest in a dedicated smartphone app -- one that is a stand-alone application by itself and not hosted on a web page like last year's. We've also beefed up our GPS connectivity, though transmission of coordinates ultimately depends on cell service. It performed pretty well yesterday and more consistent.

After a few months designing and developing and testing, we are happy to announce the app has been approved by Apple and is now available online:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nkp-765 ... ?ls=1&mt=8

It's also available in the App store under "NKP 765." The Android version will be on Google Play in a few days.

The app features:

• The location and route of no. 765, updated every 15-60 seconds when the 765 is moving
• Your location relative to the locomotive and route
• News, Event, and Schedule listings directly from fortwaynerailroad.org
• Real-time Twitter feeds from @nickelplate765 and @fortwaynerails (no Twitter account required)
• Embedded Twitter feed on the GPS map for quick and easy access to up-to-date information

It is worth noting that the app was paid in part for by a grant from the Dailey Foundation.

Dammit, stop that. You're going to make me get a "smart phone" if you keep this up.

I just downloaded the app. Love the improvements although on most days it is just going to remind me how far I am from #765. ;-(

For those of you who are involved in marketing your museums/operations/etc here are a few thoughts while wearing my digital marketing hat. Even though my clients are huge global companies, the same lessons apply.

For starters, mobile is the primary screen. Deal with it.

Does that mean people on laptops and desktops are not imprtant? Of course not. But the idea that you can have a full web experience and some kind of "light" mobile version was crap when brands started doing it a few years ago and it is even more crap now.

Everything you do with digital marketing must work on mobile -- from ticket orders to schedules to supplimental info.

Next, take advantage of the tools available to make engagement easy for your customers. Look at the 765 app. It is not just a GPS toy, it is a news aggregator that includes things like the Twitter feed. It uses mobile-centric tools like geolocation of the user combined with other web tools. The customer needs to go to just one experience to get all the info. Aggregation is good for you. When you can order tickets through an in-app mobile optimized experience the 765 app will be the holy grail, not just best in class.

You have to spend money to make money. Good marketing is not easy nor is it free. Effort and budget are required to do things right. Of course, when doing things right, the outcome is that you make more incremental money than the actual marketing cost, and you make more money in total than you would have without a marketing effort.

Obviously, FWRHS put some bucks into this app, and they are going get some (maybe all, maybe more) back by selling it. That's another lesson. Mobile users are trained in the habit of spending a dollar or two for apps without thinking twice. Take advantage of that.

Also, make sure what you are doing actually needs an app. If you can achieve the same goals in a mobile browser experience, explore that first.

If there is interest, I am happy to have a deeper discussion here.

Rob

PS: One favor I ask of RYPN community: please don't fill this thread with luddite comments about technology. I know we have anti-tech folks here (ironic for a web forum) and that's cool. Your customers/donors/public are the audience you need to reach. Lesson number one of good marketing is that you are not your target audience, and your personal piccadillos are not representative of the market your group needs to reach.

Don't forget android users .

The Android app is coming shortly.

Thanks, Robert!

KL

In round numbers, what did the development of the app cost? Is the 2.99 cost purely for iTunes distribution. Most importantly, can this app be licensed to other operators for their steam movements (rather than reinvent the wheel)?

Certainly neat stuff, especially for those who know there's no USB port on a telegraph key.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

Total cost is about the price of two 22-ton tender loads of coal...give or take. But that doesn't include future updates, design, or other factors. We did the design in-house, which can really affect your price.

Yes, we own and are able to license the code.

OK, so I got the ap. Not because I love new technology although I've worked in it, but because it's coming to my 'neighborhood' and I don't have a scanner. $2.99 was a deal. More fun than a Big Mac.

The ap still has some quirks and it would be nice to be able to submit some feedback to your developer. Most noticeable one is the 'ping-pong' action of the locomotive on the map, probably as the satellites adjust, but until you get used to it, it's a little strange to observe.

And yesterday morning the map link refused to come up at all, inexplicably, so that the ap immediately terminated and dumped you back on the screen. And and then it worked again. But no error message. I have to admit I still miss Windows... I need a screen print function!

'on the scene' reports from Ohio seem to insinuate that there was a time lag in the system as well on Sunday, some chasers got rather surprised while they were studying the map and it went roaring by!

But overall, yeah, this is way cool. I can see all kinds of applications on this, particularly for heritage streetcar circulator systems (where's the car?) instead of rather expensive wayside systems to achieve the same thing. It's a whole new world on 'so where is the train/streetcar
, anyway?'

The desktop GPS "re-centers" but if you are searching around the map even as it refreshes, the engine's location does, the map does not. Are you talking about the icon of the engine's location as it moves? Last year we used Instamapper (now defunct) and it would be a little easier to use than Latitude and be "real time" in location rather than forcing an update.



This is primarily due to either the user's connection to the network or the network's connection to our server.



Maybe they should have been listening for the whistle instead! ;)

The only lag I've seen is the Twitter feed embed, which we're following up on, but are not able to recreate or have witnessed on our own. There is a 60 second refresh rate in the train's location, but I've not seen any lag beyond that which we've designed.

The Twitter feed is simply pulling the RSS from Twitter's servers itself -- I'll post an update and look at the app and its already populated, so I can't explain the lag. Thanks for your feedback -- we had a lot of other features we're ready to include in v.2 including pushing a whistle sound effect if the engine gets within 5 miles of your current location.



Agreed and thanks for your feedback. This is the future. Overall we think this is more reliable than last year's beta/web app, and now that the platform is established makes for very easy upgrades and additional features in the future.

Any word on a schedule for the employee trips this weekend? Other spots on the web say two trips each day (5/18 & 5/19). Any approximation on time of departure from Altoona?

A "rumor mill" who goes by the handle "nathansixchime" on TrainOrders.com (a.k.a Mr. Lynch) has said in that forum 10:30 and 2:30 both days.

Affirmative.

Now for Android users, too.

The only smartphone app that runs on steam. Now available for iPhone http://bit.ly/13PEqjZ and Android http://bit.ly/132Egn0, with special Memorial Day pricing for a limited time only.