Article on the EBT on CNN.com -- same old story, but great exposure to wide audience.
Click on the travel section for a story titled "antique train running out of steam".

> Article on the EBT on CNN.com -- same old
> story, but great exposure to wide audience.
> Click on the travel section for a story
> titled "antique train running out of
> steam".

Unfortunately, the result of this type of article has been a general impression that the line is already out of business....I have Eastie flyers on my tables at toy train shows, & I spent much of the last 3 or 4 months explaining to people that YES, the trains WERE still running.

The EBT needs THAT as much as it needs another hole in the roof.-- Just ask the C&TS people how hard that sort of thing is to overcome.

The only thing that bugs me about this article is that only the owners view of what the railroad is worth is presented. Not to bash anyone, but the only ones who seem to agree with the owners inflated asking price is the owners themselves. In my view fair and even generous offers have been made and rejected, perhaps out of loyalty to family legacy, perhaps out of greed. Again, this is just speculation based on personal opinion, not an attempt to flame anyone. I would like to have seen an independent opinion in the article on the railroads value, perhaps from one of the experienced pros on this board (but given the mass media "piece of history fading away" style of the article I suppose it was too much to expect, I guess I should be happy the media even noticed). I hate to say it, but I have seen countless articles of this sort about all manner of historic sites; the media only takes notice when the threat of the site going out forever is very real. In maybe 1/3 of these cases something is done to save them; for the rest the articles serve as a nod of acknowledgement to history and a farewell to history destined to fade away.

Fortunately, unlike the flurry of articles in 1995 that said the railroad WOULD close without an infusion of funds (which it did get) this one stopped short, saying instead the future was uncertain. In both cases the articles reaped immediate benefit for the EBT. The 1995 Spectacular was one of, if not THE, best attended Spectaculars in the EBT's history. As a result it turned out to be a relatively good finantial year for the railroad. The downside is that eveyone assumed that was it and did not visit after that.

In 2002 the EBT had a massive turnout the weekend after the original article ran in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and papers that pulled it from the AP wire. With another flurry of publications of the AP article in mid October resulted is tremendous turnout the last weekend of operation. It is a pitty CNN did not run the articles while the EBT was operating for the season. It would have boosted ridership this year even further.

Even this type of news is of benefit to the EBT. It brings in riders _now_ when the funding is needed. It also places the railroad in peoples memory, even if the vision they have is not entirely accurate. It is left for us to get the word out that there will be a 2003 season at the EBT, and hopfully there will be rollover interest in visiting the railroad come June.


The East Broad Top Railroad Homepage

ebtrr@spikesys.com

Well the attendance increase is good news.

However, it still doesn't change the fact that I had to correct the mis-impressions of 100+ people who really thought the EBT was already gone. I just hope a few of the ones I talked to found their way down.

And BTW, if anyone from the FEBT reads this, I STILL haven't recieved the literature that you fellows promised me back in June -- I can't give out what I don't have.

> However, it still doesn't change the fact
> that I had to correct the mis-impressions of
> 100+ people who really thought the EBT was
> already gone. I just hope a few of the ones
> I talked to found their way down.

I agree, and representing the FEBT at a couple of shows a year I'm fighting the same battle. Still, it is better they know it exists and think it shut down than not to know about it at all. It gives them a frame of reference. Now if we can just get some _good_ EBT news through the AP wire.

> And BTW, if anyone from the FEBT reads this,
> I STILL haven't recieved the literature that
> you fellows promised me back in June -- I
> can't give out what I don't have.

Alan, contact me back-channel. I may have what you need.

The East Broad Top Railroad Homepage

ebtrr@spikesys.com

> I agree, and representing the FEBT at a
> couple of shows a year I'm fighting the same
> battle. Still, it is better they know it
> exists and think it shut down than not to
> know about it at all. It gives them a frame
> of reference. Now if we can just get some
> _good_ EBT news through the AP wire.

I just got an advance advertisers copy of Railfan Magazine(Jan issue). There EBT photos in three places.

(1) Two images by Steve Barry in the Photo Section of two different Photo Freights.

(2) Camera Bag By Jim Boyd recounting his visit with two more photo freight shots

(3) Markers, photo and commentary by Steve Barry.

Thats pretty good press for one issue I would say, even if it isn't a wire service!!

Greg Scholl

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