You seriously underestimate the ability of the PC crowd to hold a grudge...

Sigh.

Apparently you have too many Methodists still in Minnesota (see Garrison Keillor's shtick), and/or people with this mindset are part of the reason why the rest of the world mocks the United States, along with the legal age of drinking being a sky-high (compared to the rest of the world) twenty-one.

I've already shown off the Strasburg RR's own "house beer" in an earlier post. A good number of the more private railroads in the West, including the Durango & Silverton, the Grand Canyon RR, and the Verde Canyon RR, have staged, or regularly stage by now, beer-themed events/festivals such as "Oktoberfest" rides. The B&O Railroad Museum has played host to several charity-fundraiser beer/gourmet/wine events in their roundhouse, though these are events chartered separately, with the Museum simply being a host venue.

Now let me rattle through ONLY a PARTIAL list of heritage railways and preservation centres in the U.K. that host regular, annual cask/real-ale festivals, typically with dozens of beers from which to choose, in many cases hundreds:

Barrow Hill Roundhouse: http://www.railalefestival.com/
Welsh Highland/Ffestiniog http://www.rail-ale.com/
Isle of Wight Steam Railway
Crewe Railway Heritage Centre
Market Bosworth Steam Fair/Battlefield Line
Keighley & Worth Valley
Great Central Railway
Avon Valley Railway
South Devon Railway
Mid-Hants Railway--aboard the train weekly! http://www.watercressline.co.uk/product ... rain-r-a-t
Epping-Ongar Railway
Spa Valley Railway
Didcot Railway Centre
Bo'ness & Kinneil
Kent & East Sussex

And I won't mention the whisky-serving car on the Strathspey Railway--which is as natural for them as a wine train in the Napa Valley. (Location, location, location.) http://www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk/whisky-tasting/

It is now at the point where real-ale geekery and railway geekery are seen as sympathetic afflictions--they wear the same anoraks and satchel bags, after all. >;-)

I have been approached by representatives of two U.S. heritage rail operations asking about the logistics and legalities of hosting a small-scale beer festival at their operations. Yes, these events can bring security and liability issues, but then again, how dare we invite hordes of toddlers next to live tracks to roam about looking at a blue engine, either! The reality is that a focused, regulated beer event like this is nowhere near the same as a fraternity kegger or a sports stadium tailgate fracas. In most cases, the drinking is strictly regulated, with only limited quantities available per patron and servers cutting off those that appear impaired. Expecting drunken shenanigans at one of these events is akin to going to a classic European sports-car show and expecting illegal drag racing to break out, or going to a vintage-motorcycle show and expecting gang fights.

And since you asked, for no really good reason that I can see: Flat Earth Brewing's beers all come in at a completely "average" 4.5-6.5%, save for three rare seasonals that clock in at 7.1%, 9.1%, and 10.1%. The Mummy Train Pumpkin Ale, which I am now desperate to add to my "railroad beer" collection, is 5.2%.

Indeed, it has got to the stage that no self-respecting Preserved line in the UK can hold a diesel gala without the attraction of a mini-beer festival as well.

Have a look at the Great Central Railways information about next wekends Diesel Gala.....
http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-even ... september/

The beers that will be available are individually listed with the same prominence as the diesels operating - albeit without photos of the beer!!

The last I read, the book club had declared that the wine train's apology had not been accepted, and they hired an attorney who was seeking a $5-million settlement for the humiliation suffered by the book club.

Funny you should use that example, the Minnesota Transportation Museum is doing Brewery Tours with their vintage buses & Beer Events at the Jackson Street Roundhouse.

Apparently another organization tried to copy the Brewery Bus Tour idea and when the customers showed up they asked "Where are the Old Buses?"

-Hudson

I stand corrected. The power of "I'll sue ya!" can't be underestimated in this day and age.

The Wine Train lawsuit is getting savaged by commentators on this article:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/B ... 471969.php

This book club is playing the "victim" card along with the "race card" now. Gee, can I go act rowdy on the Wine Train, get put off, and then turn around and claim I am a victim because my father was (and, sadly, still is) abusive and that I am being persecuted by the Wine Train due to them being prejudiced against domestic abuse survivors? Come on.

On another subject, why is "Lets serve beer with trains!" such a fad all of a sudden? Isn't that ultimately asking for trouble?

By the same token, isn't staging an event aimed at little tykes to run around an active railroad environment ultimately asking for trouble as well, no matter how much money you may raise from the little blue loco?

As someone who writes about and photographs the craft beer industry for income, I can tell you that this is no longer a "fad," but a trend, especially in Britain. It can be a terrific way to make money, because booze mark-ups can be incredibly high, and there's a lot of synchrony between railway preservation and craft beer (both are throwbacks to the "old ways," a quainter industrial time of "hands-on" work, and the idea that something should be experienced rather than simply endured).

Let me point out: You do NOT just buy a couple kegs of mass-market beer and serve beer willy-nilly to comers any more than you start a "railroad museum" by getting any random barely-operable locomotive, some random caboose, some random passenger car, and a mile or two of disused track and offering "train rides." (Yes, some parties have done that. They tend not to last long.)

The typical craft booze festival involves:
*Craft beers/wines/spirits usually not available to the general public or only at considerable expense, and quite a variety of it, allowing "one-stop" tasting and comparisons;
*Products often specially prepared for the occasion, much like painting a steam loco a different scheme for a photo charter;
*Availability of foods that complement the beverages, either a la carte or as part of the package;
*Some kind of experience besides just the booze and food--music performers, lectures on specific styles of beer/wine, tours of the zoo, whatever;
*Some kind of limitation on consumption--"Your ticket includes ten sample glasses of beer/wine/whisky; tokens for additional samples are $3 each or $5 for full servings. . . "
*Most importantly, a moderate to steep price tag to keep away the riff-raff and to raise funds for a non-profit or charity--the zoo, the museum, disease-fighting, etc.

By the same token, what does a crab feast have to do with trolley preservation? Not a darned thing, but the one the Baltimore Streetcar Museum has every summer (mostly members and their guests) raises thousands of dollars for its restorations and operations, in spite of the smell of crab seasonings and shells lingering over the place for a few days afterwards. I'm sure the railroad museums down South have comparable BBQ feasts--or if they don't, why not?

And that's exactly what I said would happen earlier to anyone in such a case. And consider where this article ran, in the San Francisco area. That's about a PC-induced an area as you can get.Yeah, you could have (if you were a minority, as discrimination rarely ever seems to go both ways), up to the point you posted the idea here before doing so, that is.

Lee:

You do know I was being as flip as my colleague who asked if he could go get drunk and disorderly on an Amtrak train, right?

Actually, yes it can. Suing does not necessarily equate to winning. In fact, if you lose, you could very well have to pay the costs of the other party's defense. If the other party has money, they may very well say "Go ahead!" Then there's the distinct possibility that they might countersue you.

We've had several lawsuits over the streetcar tracks that we installed on 4th Avenue over the years. We one every one of them. Word got around amongst the attorneys and you'll be hard pressed to find a local attorney who will take a case involving a cyclist crashing on the streetcar tracks. They know that they can't win.

We told you so.

http://railsandales.org/

Two words
surveillance camera

Eleven grand? Huh boy..

(Note to the moderator: perhaps it is time this thread was moved to railfanning?)