Am I the only one that sees irony in Thomaston minus Thomas?

Well then you just get "Ton"

The NH&I learned that at the end of the day they made VERY little money once they paid the outlandish royalty fees etc. They've done MUCH better doing their own events.

Frankly, I'm surprised that as many outfits as do still go through the Thomas drill!!

Ross Rowland

RMNE did very well with DOWT for a number of years. It was a tremendous amount of work, and there was a reward for that work.

However, things change (what a cliche!).

It is most unfortunate that the article/reporter chose to ignore our telling of a number of what we felt were interesting stories: The father and son team that restored the rusting, forgotten little engine, the fact that it has travelled far and wide and given so many people so much enjoyment, the story of how the steam locomotive's arrival in Waterbury in 1848/49 changed the region into an industrial powerhouse that lasted for 125 years, the hard-working volunteers who made the event happen, etc., etc. Any of those themes would have been far more positive, in my opinion.

Howard P.

Orange Empire is still having its annual visits by Thomas. We've seen ups and downs in attendance over the years. And we realize that this will come to an end sometime.

Some of the volunteer staff is exhilarated and enjoy the interaction with the public during the event and others (and even the same ones) grow tired of doing the event.

So we have been investing most of our income from DOWT into capital improvements -- generally into the physically grounds, buildings and facilities (and some into our steam engine and other collections). The Board tries to spread this out over all the internal activity areas of the museum. The only (non-DOWT) expense that it helps to pay is the annual insurance bill.

The power of "Thomas" is in his literature connection, of course. The character is a pleasant, interactive, individual, who shares many of the problems and issues of pre-schoolers. To watch him negotiate and respond to his peers and adults (Mr. Topham Hat), is a reassurance to little ones. "Thomas" solves his issues without violence, and makes mistakes that are, not without consequence, but resolvable. The program has diversity amongst the characters and in general, espouses a positive message to children. For those reasons alone, parents feel comfortable taking their children to meet a nurturing character, even if that characters is, a steam locomotive.
The success of the character is a phenomenon of our age, and while expensive licensing and restrictions follows the "little blue printing press", he draws parents of children too young to understand railroads, down to the station. You may not the dollar return for at least another generation, long after today's tots are tomorrow's parents.

Thomas is a great way to get kids out to the museum. Capturing a real interest in railroads beyond the character is the challenge of the museum, from that point. A real train ride on top of the Thomas experience is one thing, but I think offering something tactile to remember may be best.

Make it an educational mystery. Have them operate a G-gauge train. Have them sit in the cab of a steam locomotive (or a replica built kid-sized). I know quite a few serious railfans that got bit by the bug, not so much by a full-size train or a character in a book, but by a kiddie train at an amusement park. The Hoot Toot and Whistle did it for me.


Sandley trains at Don Ross's site
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr010.htm

I'm not surprised at all. Thomas has just recently allowed us to purchase the former MCRR locomotive shop in St. Thomas, Ontario we've leased for over 20 years plus 16 acres of land around it. Last year was our second best year ever in attendance (the first in 2005 was the best) and our ticket sales this year are ahead of last year at this point.
If your ticket sales stay reasonably good and you have a good, experienced event coordinator, there is no reason you shouldn't make a good profit.
I can not emphasize enough having a good event coordinator, even if you have to pay him or her. If a bunch of inexperienced train "geeks" try to run the event themselves, you are screwed!!

What's "VERY little money" to the "for profit" NHRR may be a fortune to a museum that relies on Members dues to avoid losing money.

Greetings:
"A Day Out With Thomas" (TM) continues to be a worth while event for the Valley (a for profit corporation).
We just finished up two weekends with "Thomas" and netted over $10K/day from the event, which is a good bit more than we would have made on those two weekends just operating our steam train & riverboat.
This year we changed the event from November to May for a couple of reasons: first we are expanding our "North Pole Express" season further into November and adding a "Fright Train" in October which effectively limits our ability to do "Thomas" in the fall. Second, we believe that we have a better chance of families making two visits per year with "Thomas" at the begining of our season rather than competing with our "North Pole Express" at the end of the year.
Our surveys indicate a lot of repeat customers. One of our challenges is to provide enough different events to satisfy their desire to return and not become boring. We try to have something new or improved each year. Some things work ("North Pole Express") and some don"t ("Lomax the Hound of Music").
Trust me, this is a tough business to be in "for profit" (which is one reason the Valley has never paid a dividend).
Be well,
J.David

Greenfield Village hosted another great Day Out With Thomas event! There were plenty of happy riders and sold out trains, especially when the spring weather cleared up. New Thomas fans are being born every day!!

Can anyone answer me a question? I get the feeling that "The Little Blue Devil" is a must for everyone who runs a train. Why? There are other things out there.

Thomas certainly has a place in this game. And, as mentioned in a previous post, RMNE did very well with him for quite some time. Most places will try DOWT, simply because it is a proven and orchestrated event.

Mount Royal, we can discuss in more detail at Black Rock or Carlito's :-).....

Howard P.
Separate Checks, CT

At the Western Railway Museum, we have an event called "Pumpkin Patch" which has all the characteristics of Thomas - marketed to children, massive turnout, a diversity of activities, and part of our fares paid to another organization. The difference is, in exchange for the revenue share, the other organization brings their own people in to create all the children's pastimes. The problem we suffer is that the event has overwhelmed our carrying capacity (at the time, two Bridge Units); and a blown traction motor on one Unit has really put us behind the 8-ball for capacity.