Re: The OY as a PR tool
| October 18, 2019 09:22AM |
It seems as if some folks are equating the C&TS proposal to run Rotary OY to the recent UP Big Boy tours of the midwest and southwest. The two are very different things. The UP Big Boy tour is a public relations venture by a very large corporation. They've apparently decided that the generation of public good-will is worth the expenditure and so they've decided to fund it 100% out of company resources. The UP Steam Program does not care if people get perfect photos of Big Boy. All they care about is that no one gets hurt in the process.
The proposed Rotary OY operation is a completely different scenario. Unlike UP, the C&TS does not have the budget to undertake such an expensive operation purely to generate public good-will. If it is to happen, it will only happen if private individuals provide the financing. Crowd funding is one possibility. Perhaps someone would like to take the initiative to manage a fund-raising campaign. Another is if someone can convince Bill Gates or Warren Buffett that providing a public OY experience would somehow benefit their charitable foundations. Short of either of those possibilities, the only other viable financing plan that has a track record of success is for a group of serious rail photographers to pony up the cash to make it happen. Unfortunately, they will only make that investment if the railroad will take reasonable actions to ensure that the event is controlled. I understand that some may look upon this as an event for the "rich", but I think that would be a gross exaggeration. Most of the folks who are willing to pay for such an event aren't going to be flying into ABQ on private jets. They'll be flying on discount airlines with non-refundable fares, renting the cheapest car they can get, and staying in hotels that cost perhaps $80-100 per night. They are often people who have made sacrifices in other areas of life, so they can focus on a passion for photography. They are generally people who either have no kids or whose kids have long left the nest, and many of us will be lucky to still be alive 20 years from now.
/Kevin Madore
The proposed Rotary OY operation is a completely different scenario. Unlike UP, the C&TS does not have the budget to undertake such an expensive operation purely to generate public good-will. If it is to happen, it will only happen if private individuals provide the financing. Crowd funding is one possibility. Perhaps someone would like to take the initiative to manage a fund-raising campaign. Another is if someone can convince Bill Gates or Warren Buffett that providing a public OY experience would somehow benefit their charitable foundations. Short of either of those possibilities, the only other viable financing plan that has a track record of success is for a group of serious rail photographers to pony up the cash to make it happen. Unfortunately, they will only make that investment if the railroad will take reasonable actions to ensure that the event is controlled. I understand that some may look upon this as an event for the "rich", but I think that would be a gross exaggeration. Most of the folks who are willing to pay for such an event aren't going to be flying into ABQ on private jets. They'll be flying on discount airlines with non-refundable fares, renting the cheapest car they can get, and staying in hotels that cost perhaps $80-100 per night. They are often people who have made sacrifices in other areas of life, so they can focus on a passion for photography. They are generally people who either have no kids or whose kids have long left the nest, and many of us will be lucky to still be alive 20 years from now.
/Kevin Madore
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.