4 Oct 2010

Railfest Loses Luster Without Excursion

Don Goebel Jr. of Roaring Spring takes a
picture of the Mikado steam engine that pulled
the 3 p.m. excursion train Sunday at the East
Broad Top Railroad in Orbisonia. The railroad
has four Mikados, but this No. 15 is the only
one that is in operating condition by Federal
Railroad Administration regulations.

Altoona Pennsylvania USA - It was Railfest this weekend, but by the quarter-full parking lot, minimal activity, and no apparent signage at the Railroaders Memorial Museum Sunday afternoon, you wouldn't have noticed.
 
It was Railfest this weekend, but the museum did little to tell people about what's normally its signature annual event.
 
It was Railfest this weekend, but barely.
 
It wasn't meant to be that way.
 
But after it became impractical to provide the three main attractions, an excursion, rolling stock exhibits, and music at the museum, management had little choice but to de-emphasize the event this year, according to Executive Director Larry Salone.
 
It tried to make up for the lack of an excursion by coupling Railfest with the regular steam excursions offered at the East Broad Top Railroad 56 miles away in Orbisonia, which was celebrating its 50th year of operation.
 
It offered a deal by which current museum members rode free at East Broad Top, and excursion ticket buyers in East Broad Top got free admission over the weekend to the museum and Horseshoe Curve.
 
About 200 museum members rode the EBT excursion, and visitors packed the Curve, Salone said.
 
So it was successful in that sense, and it also set a precedent for linking the two attractions, both managed by Salone.
 
But it still didn't feel rail-festive, even at the EBT Sunday afternoon.
 
In previous years, Railfest featured an excursion past the Horseshoe Curve and back, using a locomotive and cars provided by Philadelphia equipment owner Bennett Levin, three cars rented from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and one rented from Amtrak.
 
But Amtrak's bill, including the car, use of the station, and two Amtrak conductors who stayed two nights in town, was more than $50,000, which helped ensure the museum lost money the last two years on the excursion, said Salone and board member Al DiCenso of Annapolis, Maryland, who was in Orbisonia Sunday.
 
So this year, management planned an off-mainline excursion.
 
But because it would be an all-day event, it needed rail cars that had restrooms to replace the non-restroom-equipped SEPTA cars.
 
But Levin and DiCenso working together couldn't locate any for the designated weekend, said DiCenso and Salone.
 
"It was not anybody's fault," Salone said. "They were just shocked how difficult it was."
 
The explanation for not having special exhibits of rolling stock and a concert in the yard is simpler:
 
The yard is torn up from survey work in preparation for the imminent groundbreaking for the long-awaited completion of a quarter-roundhouse.
 
While that project hurt the Railfest this year, its completion by next year's Railfest should help ensure there will be something interesting to do for event-goers.
 
The idea to "sister" the museum and EBT shows promise, according to EBT Office Manager David Brightbill.
 
The museum should seek to extend that idea to include all of the state's rail attractions, which could market themselves cooperatively, encouraging railfan tour groups to see them all one after another, like they do in Europe, said EBT Operations Manager Daniel Gilliland.
 
But the museum itself needs to revitalize its exhibits, according to Philip Saurlender of State College, who rode the EBT Sunday, as he does often.
 
Currently, it's like a "book on walls," he said, quoting a friend.
 
See it once, why bother coming again? he asked rhetorically.
 
Better to have rotating exhibits that rely on a combination of explanation and the artifacts that repay continued attention, he said.
 
Despite a quiet time on a weekend that should have been freighted with energy, Salone was serene.
 
"It was a pretty good situation, considering that the excursion kind of pooped out on us," he said.
 
William Kibler.