Exactly! ... by Strasburg inviting this genre to their operation, catering specifically to them, well, its kinda like taking a 1920's 0-6-0 tank loco, altering it extensively from its historical appearance, painting it blue and red and putting a big smiley face on the front of it.... but hey, if it can put a few thousand more butts onto your yearly total ridership, why not!?

Strasburg is tapping into an industry no one else in the rail preservation world is, which is good for them and sad for the rest. They may interest some of those folks to help out at other railroads closer to them - what a concept - adapt your operations to attract new riders and potential volunteers! Thank you, Strasburg.

There are many other railroads that are cutting back service - blaming it on the economy, can't even get butts in the seats on the trains they do run, or even turn a wheel to run a train because of narrow-minded thought processes.

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My "home" museum just finished Day Out With Thomas. Not only does it bring in revenue, it introduces our site to people who might not otherwise come out to visit it. I heard a number of our visitors say, "Gee, we'll have to come out on a normal weekend."

As the saying goes, you're either growing or shrinking. Those museums and operators that are progressive and continually evolving their organization's business models will most likely grow or survive. Those that don't will quickly find themselves relegated to the dust bin of history.

Another factor that goes hand in hand with evolving business models is direct income for our projects. Under the current political and economic situation, I cannot foresee depending on grants from government agencies as being a sustainable source of funding and I do not assume that there will be significant increases in project grants from the existing organizations. This makes the attraction of additional patrons and progressive thinking more important.

Rather than start a new thread, I'll just add this here--a note that the History Channel took on what looks like a steampunk theme in "The Men Who Built America:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ls43kUv_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqd4VXZmxqw

Some footage from the series featuring Cornelius Vanderbilt, partially with stock footage, partially with footage shot for the series, with at least some on the Strasburg Rail Road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Gq-eKO6SQ

The recent addition to this thread reminded me that Orange Empire had a Steampunk Weekend last March. Now that I look back, I wonder what some of the visitors who had just decided that it was a good day to visit the Museum must have thought, but it seemed like everyone had a good time

Here are some more photos

Can anyone explain the deal with these steampunk people almost always having to wear goggles?
I truly don't get that part...

The goggles are an allusion to the open cockpits of the early planes, boats and cars like the Stanley steamer pictured above where you needed to wear goggle to see. It's become a major identification of the genre.

It's also a throwback to the long-gone days of railfans riding--get this--top-open "Dutch" vestibule doors and railed baggage car doors on steam excursions of the 1950s-1980s. Any of them with experience wore goggles. Good gracious, they even sold them in the concessions car!

"Those were the days, my friend, we though they'd never end,
We'd sing and dance forever and a day......."