rehunn Wrote:
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> There is a certain appeal to moving the Convention
> around the country but it does lead to the
> occasional head scratcher. The voice vote on
> Houston/Durango was
> very close so you'd think the attendance would be
> the same. Durango, as expected drew well, Houston
> did not. North Carolina was something of a
> surprise, Maine
> seems to be as well. Portland did well though the
> most popular narrow gauge was Mr. Miller's rather
> worthy effort. Kansas City was sorta OK. I think
> there's a case
> here for going to Maine more often than
> every nine or so years, same with Denver. The
> immediacy of operating narrow gauge seems to have
> a very positive
> effect on attendance.
Hi Rich,
I agree that having the Convention in various parts of the country is more interesting. Denver is a good venue and Durango is the perfect draw with the D&S right there and C&TS not far. My mention of Portland was the 2007 convention in Maine which drew over 1,200. This year's convention in Augusta was much bigger. Speaking to numerous conventioneers last week they mentioned visiting the narrow gauge railroads (bus tours,etc.) as the best part. The four operating railroads: MNG, WW&F BRV and SR&RL drew hundreds, especially on Thursday and Friday. This year's convention got local media attention, helping promote narrow gauge to the public. I know the WW&F signed up over two dozen new members and the other lines did well.
Stewart