It was a busy day in Chattanooga. I arrived about 4PM, had enought time for the desk clerks to actually find my reservation (which took 3 of them) and check in, register, and greet the preconvention excursion upon its arrival. 601 magically appeared slowly backing up the hill into the hotel complex woith a crisp square exhaust and a fragrant cloud of coal smoke, about on the advertised 5PM. Everybody I spoke with who rode had very positive things to say about the excursion. The vendor / schmooze session began at 6, with a cash bar (2 free drink tickets provided registered attendees) and a nice array of snacks, including some nice spicy ribs and roast beef. Following a couple hours of finding old friends, catching up, and eating a lot, a 2 hour presentation of movies and audio tapes from the Robert Soule collection began in the adjacent theatre. There was some very interesting footage of the Gainesville Midland (dear to my heart) and some darker footage of the N&W in the 1950s, with a little of the Virginian electrics thrown in. Generally, it seems a good crowd, and most people i talked with reported a decent (but not record breaking) operating season. The number of vendors seems a bit smaller than usual, but some were not yet set up. Opportunities are being offered - one young part-time railroader was offered jobs by 3 tourist lines in one afternoon, without soliciting. Sessions begin tomorrow - the offerings seem to be well organized, with a nice small card showing times and locations for easy reference. Mark Ray and gang have certainly done themselves proud so far. dave

Another full day. 5 sessions of seminars scheduled today, with breaks at the vendor area in between. I attended sessions on NIMBYs, code welding, locomotive lubrication, and water treatment. The one constant in all the sessions was the amount of program preparation in terms of power point presentations or handouts, and the utter lack of preparation in terms of rehearsal of the actual talking to the group. Most presentors had no idea how long their talks were, when they wasted a lot of time hemming, hawing, or repeating themselves while the attendees waited for the next nugget of good information, or they simply allowed a free exchange among the audience to range away from topic while they waited, instead of taking control of their sessions and providing the information that was actually to be included. The presentors were probably experts in their fields, but content to prove it was thin on the ground amidst all the other chaff. Guys - rehearse, talk quickly and to the point, maintain control of your talks, and don't take questions until the information you intend to provide has been provided in a brisk, complete, and businesslike manner. TVRR staff tried very hard to make things happen on time as best they could despite the presentors. I was most put off by the consultant who spoke last about NIMBYs who, knowing the session was running late, and having been asked to expedite his part of the program, adopted a very wide ranging, deliberate and folksy style which ran for many times as long as a simpler, more direct presentation of his hints to deal with problems included would have taken. An expert engineer couldn't even read his own notes - which even done well wouldn't be a fascinating thing for an audience to watch. Another just read his notes, which took him much longer than if we had just read them for ourselves. Nobody expects Sir Laurence Olivier at these things, but it doesn't take one to simply read competently like a literate professional or talk about what one knows. The overtime in the sessions caused a late dinner off site - this night, none had been provided for. Choo Choo isn't within comfortable walking distance of most restaurants and the streets are a bit bewindering and off-putting for strangers to town, so the city thoughtfully provided a free electric shuttle which runs a route through the likely territory. We discovered after dinner, the city unthoughtfully stops running them at 7:30 PM, leaving visitors stranded across town. I had wanted to see Sam Lanter's presentation at show and tell, but the lateness of going to dinner and difficulties of returning got me back an hour and a half too late for it. Can't win them all I suppose.Anyhow, apart from what we did get out of the sessions, the networking and vendor information is very worthwhile. About Choo Choo - I visited it several years ago when it was new, and was a bit surprised at how shabby it has been permitted to become. It is beginning to show an air of fiscal desperation which bodes badly for the city as a whole. dave

What convention are you at?......Smokebox

Dave's at TRAIN-Tourist Railroad Industry Association, hosted this year by TVRM.

And for those of us who can't make it, it seems to me he provides a pretty valuable resource. Many thanks Dave, and have a couple of beers for me!TJG

Another good day. Board meeting this AM i blew off, not being on the board. Lots of good schmoozing in the vendors hall instead. The best news being circulated is the V&T story, as well as the rebirth of the Kevin Costner railroad in South Dakota - two good sized tourist lines being developed in highly visited commercial areas with adequate capitalization to about insure success. The Mayor of Carson City was at the conference today, and was picking brains like crazy. Bad news was a general sense of discontent caused by inadequate information on the very recent situation at CATS. Rumors are flying CATS guys - please get real information out soon. I attended two seminars today, a much different experience than yesterday. More good news - American Heritage Railways has spun off a production company offering events that even small operators can produce, who have not the resources to do a Thomas, or that larger operators can do as well as Thomas. The new company is called Rail Events Inc, and they hold the rights to the Little Engine That Could, and the Polar Express. Hogwarts Express is in the offing in the future. From the sound of the presentation, costs won't be near as high as the more visible Thomas, but professional marketing assistance, event planning, and merchandising will be offered. Randy Gustafson from Stone Consulting repeated his very popular session on market research he presented the previous day. Using the recent events at Western Maryland Scenic RR as a case study, he showed us not only why market research is vitally important, but demonstrated the basics of doing a statistically valid survey. Both presentations were well presented, moved along, and allowed adequate time for good Q&A afterward. I wonder if technical people simply are not taught how to speak to groups? In my remote youth, we read aloud to class as early as first grade, and by third had some level of proficiency. Can someone graduate from college now without that experience? If so, shame on us. Dinner to night is at the Tennessee Aquarium, presumably fresh fish. If it doesn't smell good, a good microbrewery is close by. Tomorrow we get to play trains.dave

Thanks for the updates. Where is next years TRAIN convention?Smokebox

Next year's TRAIN (Tourist Railway Association, Inc.) convention will be a joint meeting with TRAIN and ARM hosted by California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento, CA, Nov. 8 through 12, 2006.If this one is as good as the joint meeting at Spencer Shops in NC 2000, it should be on your planning list. Dick Noonan, TRAIN Board member and CSRM representative, provided an excellent power point program at the Board of Director's meeting today (11/4). Sorry Dave missed it.As the program developes over the next few month the information will be posted on the TRAIN site (traininc.org) and in the TRAIN bimonthly publication TrainLine.The Chattanooga meeting, hosted by TVRM, is a great success all due to the engergy that TVRM has put into it.Stay tuned. Dan

But Dan, I'm not on the board. You're doing a great job, and I have nothing to contribute that could improve it. Better time spent helping put people with common interests together in the hall. It was actually very good BBQ from Sticky fingers. The aquarium was very impressive, as was the amount of night life visible on Market Street in the pubs, clubs, and restaurants. Today was another good day in Chattanooga. Busses left this morning to take us to the incline railway in a light cool mist. The view was spectular, and the crowds thin in the early morning. A light drizzle fell as we departed midmorning for the TVRR depot at Cromwell Road. Bag lunches at the depot deli fortified us for the train ride and afternoon sessions at the shops in East Chattanooga. Mechanical sessions were available in two flavors - cars or engines. Those not wishing to take part had free rein to ride trains all day if the wanted. The first session I attended was a demonstration of the excellent wheel shop facility, comprimised of a 90" wheel lathe, journal and hub lathe, and quartering machine. These are serious tools, and TVRR makes good use of them not only working on their stock, but solving problems for the rest of us as well. 630 was a hulking presence, naked and up on jacks. Some excellent welding work on the boiler and frame was under way. A diesel covered wagon without any sides was in there too. The last session i took was an interesting one on basic physics related to locomotives, demonstrated as a teaching aid we can use to train new (and old) firemen. Seeing visually what results from applying similar stresses in much reduced state to those that happen in great scale in the boilers on our locomotives helps make the best impression of the potentially destructive power involved to potential enginemen. Everybody was worn out after the last few days festivities, and dozed on the train ride which eased us slowly back to the Choo Choo. Off to the closing banquet, then home tomorrow. I'm not staying for the Sunday board meeting either. dave

Final report - the banquet.This is the one part of every convention at which TRAIN consistently fails.This one started with a cash bar at which the group stacked up like cordwod while two frantic bartenders tried in vain to serve the multitudes. More bars less lines (or in this case rabbles), please. It was starting to get ugly in there. Dinner started with a salad that had been made a few days in advance, and stored in a steambath in the meantime. The lettuce had wilted to the point it wouldn't hold on a fork, and the croutons bent rather than crunched when bitten into. I chose the beef main course, which was a grainy gray slab with very little flavor. All in all, just slightly worse than what one has grown to expect for such functions. I hold the Ogden banquet as the standard to which the rest must aspire. The program began with several interruptions to our dinner and conversation in fits and starts. It may be wise to not provide any interruption during the meal which social expectation requires applause from the diners. Then came the invocation, which i think we should have outgrown as the group diversifies with many different belief systems involved. Given our prediliction for steam, wouldn't the most likely dieties to invoke be Vulcan and Brighid anyhow? If we must do it, let's do it right. This was followed by the usual self-congradulatory speeches, and then a great many awards given, in about 80% of the cases, to people or entities for simply doing an adequate job of what they are supposed to be doing. Not only does this cheapen the impact for the 20% that genuinely deserve special recognition for special work above and beyond, but insults everybody else that did a good, competent job, and got no recognition.The time required for every recipient to navigate the narrows between the cramped tables to the podium, come up with a few words, pose for a picture, and navigate back, made for a long and not entertaining evening. Why not limit awards to those whose work was actually unusually exeptional? A group photo after would speed the process as well. The evenings program was a computerized power point presentation by John Craft, dedicated to the Southern Steam Program work of the late Jim Bistline. It was powerfully nostalgic, moving and entertaining, and truly deserved the standaing ovation it recieved. I was left with a sense of the contrast between the UP (which was one of the deserving 20%) and SR / NS steam programs - UP has made a commitment to maintaining their own trademark steam locomotives, while SR / NS used many, in some cases used them up, and then traded them off for others. Postmortem: TVRR did a great job of providing a program that didn't waste a single minute an attendee would wish to put to productive use. At these meetings, the most important opportunities are (in descending order) networking, schmoozing, learning in the sessions, sourcing from vendors, TRAIN company business, and the local eating, train riding, etc. All thhese were well organized, and when a crisis evolved when chartered busses failed to arrive, staff had it solved in 15 minutes. Great work guys. Next year joint with ARM in Sacramento, then Hershey was mentioned - Please rethink Hershey. That area of PA is about the nastiest commercialized artificial exposure to an otherwise attractive state with great natural beauty and lots of industrial history that would better appeal to the company. I hope it is not too late. dave

As an attendee, TRAIN board member, conference co-chair (Ogden), and one who earns a living in this business, I cannot simply sit back and allow a self-appointed critic take cheap shots at an exceptional conference. Mark Ray and the staff at TVRM busted their humps for over two years to organize a convention that would benefit operating tourist railroads. The focus of these conferences is to provide a forum wherein vendors, operators and supporters of the industry assemble each year for networking, instruction and socializing.Granted, some of the presenters may not be highly polished in effectively sharing their expertise or their message. Thus, there is the opportunity afterward to meet with and visit in detail to better understand the message. The real test of a good seminar is whether the presentation is of benefit for those in attendance (as opposed to being totally self-serving), and whether the presentation is thought-provoking and thus capable of generating innovative action. The future of steam railroading is in the hands of those who support and operate historic steam trains -- namely, tourist railroads. Innovative action and new ideas are needed to keep steam alive.A tremendous amount of effort and expense goes into hosting (and even attending) a TRAIN convention. Each railroad in attendance at TRAIN has a different approach to the business. Each succeeds to varying degrees in its own realm. The railroads, suppliers, consultants and others all need each other in order to survive, regardless of past history or personal feelings. TRAIN conventions provide a tremendous opportunity to openly share ideas, insights and success and failure stories.In regards to the awards, etc. at the banquet, if TRAIN doesn't recognize the efforts and sacrifices of those who preserve railroad history and artifacts, then who will? In regards to the nits about the meal, I heard no complaints -- we're just happy to be there!In conclusion, Dave (whomever you are), I would suggest that you look past the minor negative items and discover what is REALLY taking place at these gatherings. You should also reserve your commentary (especially the negative commentary) until after YOU have hosted a TRAIN (or similar) convention of the magnitude of TRAIN 2005 -- it will be a tough act for anyone to follow. In addition, I would invite you and others to attend the Board meetings (which are all open to all attendees) so that you can contribute your knowledge and expertise in a positive manner. We can sure use the help! Hope to see you all in Ely (April) and Sacramento (November)![/b]

Craig, i believe I made my high regard for the work Mark and Co did evident in the postings. I believe they were let down in some cases by ill prepared presenters, and by the venue's food service staff. In neither case do i hold them culpable. I believe these sentiments were made clear in the context. If not, i reiterate them here. TVRR is a class act and did a great job of building this event, to a high standard not shared by some of the other participants. I also do believe that a high standard of professionalism is much more important now than it has ever been in our industry. Under the direction of Dan Ranger, TRAIN publications and management are better than they have ever been. All the more reason to assure that the meetings continue to evolve into a form better befitting an international professional organization than an overgrown small town Kiwanis dinner. Why couldn't the rest of the banquet have reached the standard of John Craft's excellent presentation? Why is it wrong to ask that they do? You guys in Utah showed that food in large convention settings doesn't have to be bad, and if my compliment embarrassed you, I apologise. You still did great.I will admit to not having organized a TRAIN convention, but in my younger days i did take touring shows out on the road, which never had the luxury of two years to plan and only one venue in which to perform. I don't lack appreciation. I have volunteered to help TRAIN in committee work, but have not had the opportunity yet to serve. So i stand by the imppressions I posted here, which may or may not be yours, which were done for the purpose of pointing out where I think the best improvements can be made to make the next meetings better. I did notice you weren't arguing with me about their substance, only with whether it was fair to post them. It is too late in my life for me to worry about winning popularity contests, and I can take the heat, so let's agree to disagree on this one, but please do not misrepresent my percieved offenses in the process. Now I will probably get lots of nasty letters from Kiwanians.....dave

And if anyone else needed an answer for the record, I'm sure Dave will forgive me for noting that he is Dave Lathrop, even though he sometimes forgets to sign himself as such.

Sorry Erik, no evasion intended. For the record, gray hair and beard, trifocals, dressed mostly in black to keep the grease and dirt stains from showing. Hmmmm.... sounds like about half the attendees. Better be more specific, if I can figure out how. Yeah - 9 remaining fingers. That should narrow it a bit. Dave Lathrop

You've only been a brakeman for one year?Steve