Re: RR Reality show A la ``Ice Road Truckers''

The program has increased the applications for positions with driving on the Ice Road. The same has happened with the deadlist Catch series for fishing boats.

I have a friend that is pushing the BNSF help fund the rebuilding the 2-10-4 #5021 at the CSRM. His prospectus to the BNSF management uses the publicity that has been produced by reality shows. His prospectus has some great ideas that the rebuilding of a super steam loco would be like the Extreme Machines series on the history channel.

A 30 second prime time spot is about $150,000. He calculates that 45 minute show would cost $300,000 a minute and would be 7 times more effective would generate nearly $94,000,000 in priceless advertising equivalency. Think of how this kind of publicity would benefit the railroad preservation movement as well as showcase the best of it.

Of course some of these numbers are speculation on his part, however the I think that his intention is correct that it would be millions of dollars of publicity for a lot less than prime time broadcasts on the major networks?

Dale Brown

D. Brown