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 Post subject: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:55 am 

Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:41 am
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Location: Inwood, W.Va.
The topic line says all.

https://www.citybeat.com/arts-culture/c ... f-the-line


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:23 pm 

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:40 am
Posts: 489
Sigh! It's ITM all over again.

Robert


Last edited by BigBoy 4023 on Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:43 pm 

Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:50 pm
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Location: Northern Illinois
BigBoy 4023 wrote:
Sigh! It's IRM all over again.

Robert


I think you mean ITM, Indiana Transportation Museum. The Illinois Railway Museum is a bit more viable.

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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 1:49 pm 

Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:08 pm
Posts: 396
Location: Amherst, OH
Guys, read the article. It's not at all like ITM. In fact, it's the opposite of ITM.


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:42 pm 

Joined: Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:40 am
Posts: 489
Dennis Storzek wrote:
BigBoy 4023 wrote:
Sigh! It's IRM all over again.

Robert


I think you mean ITM, Indiana Transportation Museum. The Illinois Railway Museum is a bit more viable.


Yes, ITM. I corrected my post. Busy morning.

Robert


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:26 pm 

Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:50 pm
Posts: 567
This situation is not at all like ITM. But they are like all too many railroad museums around the country, struggling for attendance and income. They admit they are at the point of needing to part with up to half of their collection.

While I was enrolled in the College of Engineering at UC from 1990 to 1995 I would often find my way down to Latonia and check out what was going on and walk through what cars I could.

Hoping they are successful with their ambitious new capital campaign. If you're in the area, please take time to stop by, make a modest donation and see what they are up to. They have a nice PRR E unit among many passenger and freight cars as well as some smaller switch engines.

Sincerely,

Rob Gardner


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:29 am 

Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:29 pm
Posts: 1899
Location: Youngstown, OH
I am afraid that they may be setting themselves up for failure by attempting such an ambitious capital campaign instead of setting a more modest goal that they could actually reach. If they are having problems finding people to maintain basic operations, who is going to do the thousands of hours of cultivation of donors, organize fundraising events, handle solicitations etc.?

Their collection seems to be 90% passenger cars. I would suspect that for most visitors, after the second or third passenger car you pretty much have seen all you need to see. Not a lot of variety of equipment to show off and aside from the E-8, no major locomotives. I agree, disposing of half of those passenger cars would be a good start. The yard lead extends over a bridge and over a grade crossing and then ends. From one end of the yard to that road crossing is about 1,400 feet, long enough for some rudimentary operations such as a caboose hop or even motor car rides.

I think I would focus on clearing enough track in the yard so that a motor car train could start out at the front entrance, go down to the road crossing, then back up and into one of the yard tracks down to the end, then back out, crossover and return to the loading area. Such a ride would take probably a half hour or so and would be of sufficient interest to successfully market. People need to be entertained! Such a ride would do that but several tracks of rotted passenger cars will not.

Fortunately they are in a large metropolitan area to draw visitors from. There are literally thousands of parents looking for things to do to pacify their children on weekends. This museum's task is to find a way to appeal to them and then get the message out that they are there.

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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:52 am 

Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:50 pm
Posts: 567
20 plus years ago when I was at UC, I believe they were still giving very occasional rides. But even then they were still struggling with money and even being able to keep a locomotive operational. I know they ran Santa trains around the holidays and maybe a few other special events as well.

Without manpower, even if they had some money, you still need people that know the various mechanical trades to just keep the cars weather tight and stabilized, let alone do complete physical restorations.

Rob Gardner


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:58 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:59 pm
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Rob Gardner wrote:
... 20 plus years ago when I was at UC, I believe they were still giving very occasional rides.

Which UC? I've been affiliated with the University of California at Berkeley for over fifty years, and this doesn't sound familiar..

Always good to explain any abbreviation the first time it's used!


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:50 am 

Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:50 pm
Posts: 2815
Location: Northern Illinois
Rob Gardner wrote:
This situation is not at all like ITM. But they are like all too many railroad museums around the country, struggling for attendance and income. They admit they are at the point of needing to part with up to half of their collection.


It is on one respect. One of the problems at ITM was they allowed the public face of their operation, the display area in the park, degenerate into a junk yard. No matter how neat the public thought the state fair trains were, that couldn't overcome the bad vibes cause by the eyesore in the park. The Cincinnati group doesn't have an operation, but is growing their own junk yard, due to lack of covered storage and too few $$$ and man hours to keep up with maintenance on the equipment. It's only a matter of time before the city fathers start to question if this museum is an asset or a liability. I wish them luck with their fund raiser.

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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:01 am 

Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:08 pm
Posts: 396
Location: Amherst, OH
Well this thread is about a museum in Cincinnati so.... UC = University of Cincinnati.


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 Post subject: Re: An Unfortunately Familiar Situation in Cincinnati
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:56 am 

Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:15 pm
Posts: 1477
We have to be willing to ask "what's wrong?" How did the operation get to that point, I mean that looks very rough in those photos. Cincinnati is such a huge base for members and volunteers, there is simply no excuse. A properly run non-profit should have no problem keeping the place in good repair. Does that mean every piece will be "museum quality"? No of course not. But they should have at least 1 full display train (the e-8, and a passenger consist behind) that is in display condition both inside and out. And then an additional freight train that is in display condition. That would be the basis for a museum
that is worth advertising.


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