The railroad doesn't have to have a "full department" but they should at least have one person whose only job is the promotion of the railroad, and then a contract firm to create the promotional materials like website, graphics, and videos.
You can keep the charm of the railroad, without having a railroad that is always a couple of disasters or a pull out of state funds away from closing. That takes more riders, probably almost double what they have now. They do (or did) have a plan for becoming self-sustaining and that is great.
The railroad has done a good job of navigating the obstacles of COVID and fire danger while keeping most employed, I'll give them that. The communication after the latter, not so much.