Strasburg To Hold "Train Robberies"

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:29 pm

It's come to this.

The Strasburg Rail Road, long held up as the epitome "class act" of heritage rail operations, has scheduled that long-standing cliché of hackneyed, "tourist trap" "Wild West" excursion lines of a half-century ago: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY!

Now, to be fair, they've only scheduled three dates for all of 2018, as opposed to a "robbery" on every trip as many operations used to do. And I'm all for variety--they appear to be doing it in a way distinctive from the old "Wild West" guys on horseback rounded up by the Sheriff. And by now the whole theme is so old that it's "new again." And if the idea irritates you, they've hopefully given enough advance warning that you can avoid it, as with "Thomas the Tank Engine" and other such events.

https://www.facebook.com/events/195653677908265/

Quote:

A Bonnie & Clyde Adventure!
Travel back in time to 1934 for an adventurous 45-minute ride on the rails through scenic Amish Country. An A-list celebrity is planning to travel in style at the railroad complete with high fashion, sparkling jewels and bountiful riches. However, there have been alleged sightings of dynamic duo, Bonnie and Clyde, whose exploits have captured the attention of the American public.

All real money “donated” to our robbers will go to the Clinic for Special Children!

This interactive, family-friendly ride will rob you poor! Don’t worry though – you can always get some gold trinkets for the family back at the East Strasburg Station after the wild adventure. Bring your camera. Pay attention. The action may happen anywhere!

Boarding promptly takes place 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. 2018 Great Train Robbery Events are scheduled for the following dates and departure times:
April 21, 2018 4:00 PM
July 21, 2018 5:00 PM
October 20, 2018 4:00 PM

The Great Train Robbery often sells out, so we highly recommend booking your tickets in advance!

Now I'm reaching for those old Steam Passenger Service Directories to see how many lines in the '60s offered "train robberies".....

Mount Royal · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:32 pm

And they’ll remain a class act. I remember seeing “Indians” on horseback at SRR when I was little.

Otto Vondrak · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:39 pm

Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:

It's come to this.

The Strasburg Rail Road, long held up as the epitome "class act" of heritage rail operations, has scheduled that long-standing cliché of hackneyed, "tourist trap" "Wild West" excursion lines of a half-century ago: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY!

"Tourist Trap" equals attendance. Attendance equals income. Not sure I understand what your objection is?

-otto-

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:58 pm

They could have a junior version for the Cagney ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-6QOE3cq0E

According to the Baltimore Chapter of the NRHS, which posted this on their Facebook page:

Quote:

You may know that Edison's "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), filmed on the Lackawanna in New Jersey, was the first commercial feature film ever produced, but did you know that it also inspired what has been called the first parody movie ever?

"The Little Train Robbery", filmed and released in 1905, features adolescent or pre-adolescent children robbing a miniature amusement park train powered by a Cagney Bros. 4-4-0 steam locomotive, believed in this case to have been filmed in Olympia Park, operated by the West Penn Railways interurban line in Versailles, a suburb of McKeesport, PA, from 1902 to 1942.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

softwerkslex · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:16 pm

How about something new? Why don’t you tie someone to the tracks?
Dudley Doright revival?

WVNorthern · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:48 pm

Many years ago while riding the Tweetsie Railroad, we were attacked by Indians (er I mean indigenous North American people). Part of the ride went past their "village". I was amused to notice one of the teepees had a TV antenna sticking out of the top. I always wondered what the attackers did between trains.

Mount Royal · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:58 pm

Gimmicks attract patrons and keep them coming back. Some folks can’t or outright refuse to embrace the idea. Hell, I wasn’t fond of the idea at first, but I’m warming up to it.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:00 pm

softwerkslex wrote:

How about something new? Why don’t you tie someone to the tracks?

Because then the New Hope & Ivyland, which advertises (or used to, long ago) that it has "the original trestle from The Perils of Pauline!", would sue for trademark infringement or something?

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:22 pm

Don't take my remarks the wrong way. Anything that attracts people into coach seats and boosts ridership in a day when a steam locomotive train ride isn't enough anymore is fine with me.

The bemusement with me is that the "Wild West Robbery" used to be a sure-fire sign that a steam excursion ride was all about entertainment and drawing the stereotype 1950s-1970s vacation family in their station wagon (Clark Griswold and family, anyone?) rather than "historic preservation."

As I've travelled the roads of this country, I've seen the occasionally sorry remains or ruins of tourist traps that used to "cash in" on the Wild West motif popular in the Gunsmoke/Wild, Wild West/Bonanza/Davy Crockett/Daniel Boone TV days. To many, they now hearken back to a "politically incorrect," now sort of embarrassing era of our popular culture. One of the last holdouts in the East, the Susquehanna Trading Post, a tourist gift shop north of Harrisburg that used to cash in on "Cowboys & Injuns" and gradually transitioned to Pennsylvania Dutch and Native American crafts and leatherwork, finally closed down last October after over six decades in the trade. There's another "Wild West" attraction a few dozen miles south of me that was rebuilt into a modern commercial retail strip, while retaining the "saloon/storefront" architecture.

survivingworldsteam · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:46 pm

Back in 1997, there used to be a little Wild West town just outside the IRM in Union; we actually stopped there on our way to the IRM. It had the little C.P. Huntington trainset, a town, a medicine wagon and all the other usual Wild West trappings; I don't remember if we got held up when we rode it. That's my son standing next to it; just the right scale. :)

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:06 pm

Amish bandits on Belgian plowing horses?

Dave · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:44 pm

Gip Mir gelt?

Sandy, you forgot Iron Horse. Nothing but "old west" action surrounding a railroad.

Seriously, it's a means of raising funds for a local charity - something we should all be doing to help cement ties to our communities.

Randy Hees · **Posted:** Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:55 pm

Kelly Anderson wrote...

Quote:

it's ground fault hunting season on #8618.

That wonderful time of year when its wet enough to find all the old and damaged wiring on any old diesel...

Randy

Ed Kapuscinski · **Posted:** Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:37 pm

Caught em red handed...

http://railfanning.kapuscinski.net/wp-c ... 24x682.jpg

Back in 2014.

More pics: http://railfanning.kapuscinski.net/2014 ... strasburg/