Yes CZ, this is another thread about #4014.

Mainstream news coverage remote from UP territory is getting going. This is in the business section of today's Lancaster PA newspaper. I never expected the local paper here to run a story like that.

Wasn't somebody saying something about a PR disaster coming for UP? Huh.

Sadly, the article is behind a paywall.

It worked just fine for me.....no pay wall.

Keith

Isn't for me, tried on both my desk top and my phone...

Here's another link to the same story:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/ ... /39457107/

Bob H

Article loaded fine for me as well and I'm running Safari with cookies blocked.

Nice link in the sidebar to an article on the 611 visit to the coverage area in the fall as well. We are very much looking forward to that.

And this, Lucy, is why Beethoven (or in this case, the UP's 4014 restoration) is so great. For now, and likely however long the program lasts, the heritage rail industry has a full time professional PR team working to maximize UP's return on investment by getting articles such as this, as well as video clips for traditional broadcast and digital platforms, placed with news outlets throughout the country. UP sees the golden spike anniversary as an opportunity to raise public awareness in the importance of the railroads in our past prosperity and future growth. 4014 is the perfect bridge between an important event that could easily be mistaken as a remote occurrence from the distant past and UP's current business. 4014 is an important symbol of industrial strength that, thanks to the restoration under the leadership of Ed Dickens, connects the dots between what occurred 150 years ago and the present day in a way that people can see, feel, and smell.

THIS.

Any rail enthusiast, historian, or publicist that refuses to acknowledge or pay attention to this reality has his or head so far up their own body that they are a danger unto themselves and the avocation/hobby. (And quite a few of those folks have made their presence known online and elsewhere, sadly.)

Again, UP (and the NRHS, R&LHS, rail museums, and the like) MUST invest the time and energy (somewhat substantial, mind you) into building upon this "hype" and use it to their best advantage. Or it's all for naught.

I have access to the Detroit News link, but the Lancaster paper has decided not to make their content available in Europe, and it is blocked entirely.

There was a bit on Fox News TV this morning as well.

EDIT: Either Fox News or Fox Business did a live broadcast from the cab of 4014 enroute. The video is posted at Fox News. Is this a first for a large network?

Joshua

I guess I deserve that :P

My comment over there did spark some interesting conversation though!

AP's article yesterday included a short video - https://www.apnews.com/99f123f5fb9342b5a6602b544f6871b0

And even getting mentioned Down Under https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6111544/restored-giant-us-steam-train-rolls-again/?cs=14264

From a public radio station in Rhode Island, with some wonderful photos.

https://thepublicsradio.org/article/tho ... f-railroad

This article made me chuckle. My favorite is the last sentence.

"One big change to modernize the 4014 was converting its energy source from coal to fuel oil to keep the drivers from becoming covered in soot."

Gotta keep those drivers clean!

https://news.thomasnet.com/featured/res ... turedvideo

I wonder if that was a reference to the engine crews; "driver" is the British counterpart to "engineer" here.

Curse you, Thomas the Tank Engine!!

The source is also Thomas, but apparently a different one--what used to be Thomas Industries if I remember right, the publisher of the Thomas Catalog, or "Thomcat." This was large, green multi-volume directory to just about anything you would need to buy in any sort of business, from auto parts to zinc castings or just plain zinc. I remember they had a category for steam locomotives!! Two of the entries there were for General Electric (steam turbine electrics) and Crown Metal Products (amusement park engines, up to three foot gauge engines weighing 25 tons). Crown Metal Products also had the licenses and patterns for Westinghouse air compressors; some of those are currently mounted on East Broad Top locomotives.