Wade,
Greg Scholl & and have talked at length how the demise of the NS Steam program seemed to stifle "new" people coming in to buy our products.
It got people near a steam train, and many who rode discovered the gift car, and more importantly magazines, books and videos about trains, and talked with the volunteers on-board.
Through this process, they learned that there is a real-live railroad hobby.
I've got a bunch of parent's getting my "The Alphabet Train" video through my kids distribution outlets who are just astonished that their kids like the real trains, not just Thomas.
Many of these people tell me that they have never ridden a train, and never even seen a steam locomotive. Some only got the video because the librarian suggested that they give it a try...they would have never even thought to get a video with trains in it.
However they get it, once they get it into junior's hands, WATCH OUT!
Some have even come back for other, prototype videos to satisfy junior's demands for more train videos.
I try to push things that I know that junior will probably enjoy, but that Mom & Dad might like too, like the America By Rail tapes or the C&TS video or the Illinois Railway Museum.
The parent's watch the video and learn that there is a whole lot more to trains than cursing them at the railroad crossing.
I know of one family that rode the C&TS last year after viewing, and a couple who have visited IRM in Union, and one family that visited the Texas State Railroad after watching.
The key is to get the word out that these trains exist, and that they are FUN!
Little boys (and girls too!) haven't changed. They still like trains, the real ones. Somehow we need to reach their parents!
Most of the people of my 30-something generation are just clueless about trains.
Many people that I meet are just dumbfounded that I make my living off of trains and I have never worked for a railroad one day.
As has been mentioned before, it is all about marketing. How do you get people with a pedestrian interest at best to ride your train, and maybe, just maybe come back again, or want to ride another train?
It is possible. In a week 500,000 people will overrun Indianapolis (while locals like myself avoid that side of the town like the plague) to watch cars go around in a circle so large that you can't even follow them the whole time.
It is an event. It's the thing to do. I's sexy (especially on a hot summer day!!!!).
So how do we get people to flock to the train rides?
Les Jarrett
