BUILDING INTEREST IN TROLLEY MODELING: TELLING THE WORLD

TRACTION MODELS --- GROWING THE HOBBY
Based on a Rant in the East Penn Traction Club Forum of Spring 2009.
with significant additions and emendations by the author


When it was suggested to a group of traction hobbyist that they run a program in Florida similar to those outstanding exhibitions held in the Philadelphia area by the East Penn Traction Club (EPTC), we were told :
1. that the hobby was dying,
2. that no new people were coming into the hobby because "All kids were interested in was computer gaming", and that
3. the very small magnitude annual event held in Florida by the Electric Railroaders of Florida was all we could expect.
We don't agree with any of those premises, and decided to explore where this hobby-wide low self-esteem come from.
We were told that we should run these exhibitions ourselves. Many hobbyists came down here, retiring to Florida because adequate facilities did not exist elsewhere to accommodate newly acquired or discovered physical limitations. Florida has many residences and business facilities that cater to people who don’t get around as easily as they used to. Houses are designed with no stairs; there are few hills; it is not necessary to doff and don heavy winter clothes; and long stretches of perfect weather allow the long walks that we’re told we must take often and regularly to maintain our health. As many of you know and appreciate, it takes a great deal of work by many people to put one of these programs together successfully. Finding active, motivated traction hobbyists who are willing and able to pitch in and devote their time to programs like this is not an easy task.
We’ve heard it said by the occasional non-resident --- who comes to Florida for a brief visit spent primarily on the magnificent beaches or at the many theme parks --- that Florida is very hot. Well, it is, in the summer. Only deluded or misinformed northerners would attempt to run a program here during the summer. That's why smart visitors plan their trips here during the magnificent Winter season that runs from Thanksgiving through Easter. During that delightful period, daytime temperatures run up to a high in the mid-seventies; the thermometer drops to about 55-60⁰ F. at night; and we of sub-tropical Florida call this time "the Dry Season" because there are no tropical storms and essentially no rain (three days of rain all this past winter, here on the Gulf Coast). The natural desire among most northerners to get away from the snow, ice, and bitter cold weather in January or February provides natural leverage (stimulus?) to millions of people who might not otherwise be motivated to come down. No traction group is taking advantage of that meteorological fact; is a puzzlement, as the King of Siam commented.
Although the members of EPTC can be rightly proud of their events, and although we’re sure that people come to them from all over the United States, it's entirely too easy to fall into the "Everybody Fallacy". I've heard, at various times in my life, the following examples of the Everybody Fallacy :
a. "Everybody plays golf !"
b. "Everybody listens to Howard Stern" !
c. "Everybody knows that alien lizard-like life forms are the secret rulers of Planet Earth !"
d. "Everybody likes chocolate mint ! … or hot spicy Thai food ! "
e. And finally, most pertinent, "Everybody who's interested in trolleys already goes to EPTC events." Well, frankly, they don’t.
The fact is that trolley fans are an infinitesimal fraction of the Earth's population. Like any organization or special interest, we need to build a broader base of interest and membership; otherwise complacency and the effects of continuous demographic decreases over time will ensure that our organizations will continue to shrink in size if it does not make an effort to grow larger. We'll try to restate our points briefly and clearly:

1. We recommend that a major trolley, traction, transit, and tram (T, pronounced “T to the Fourth Power”) exhibit be held as a winter event in a beautiful, pleasantly mild, venue in Florida, specifically designed so that entire families from all over the country --- if not the world --- can enjoy the facilities and learn about trolleys, trams, and public transit, both model and full size.
2. A national Exhibition in Florida --- or even an international event --- would be in addition to any other regular exhibit and meeting that model traction groups might run at any other time or place. A strong, effective special interest organization should stake out a leadership position nationally by planning an event of national interest, instead of a regionally-oriented event.
3. The key to a well-attended world-class event is outstanding (not just good) professional-quality publicity carefully placed well in advance of an event in a wide variety of media:
A. national media like the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Travel, Reminisce; AARP;
B. magazines that cater to technically-oriented readers , such as Popular Mechanics; Discover; Smithsonian; Popular Science; Trains; Model Railroader;
C. all the trolley museum, preservation, and traction hobby periodicals, of course --- but not just the obvious American ones: there's a whole world of them out there, plus all the professional light rail magazines in the U.S. and Europe;
D. on-line notices to all the web-sites and URL’s that deal with prototype trolley and traction issues E. press releases to the dozens of transit advocacy groups; F. carefully placed video clips on national TV (which loves the unusual story) or on-line, including YouTube; G. cultivate some celebrities or talk-show hosts for some “face-time” on national TV
H. get together with some of the other top, active transit and traction membership groups, including CERA and the New York City transit mob, and make them part of the process I. Announce a Man-of-the-Year award to a well-deserving --- but previously unheralded --- advocate of light rail or trolley, full-size or model is an attention-grabbing device that really works. (Think Academy Awards). and on and on, limited only by imagination and time J. Utilize the public relations staff and capabilities of, e.g., SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia; civic leaders --- mayors and governors; regional publications (Philadelphia Magazine, New Yorker, etc.); the trolley museums --- especially Electric City Traction Club and other groups doing trolley restoration; the two or three commercial trolley manufacturers (GOMACO, etc.); the dozen or so light rail vehicle manufacturers (including Kinki-Sharyo, headquartered in --- ta-da --- Florida); British and Continental tram magazines.
K. Make up --- and offer for sale --- special souvenir T-shirts of the event; … and special souvenir trolley models in the two most popular scales, 0 and H0. I could go on and on, but you probably get the picture and can add many examples of your own.

Our modest group --- Electric Railways Network --- has compiled an address list of well over 800 contacts, which does NOT include media and is still growing daily.
Query: When EPTC held its most recent exhibition which thousands attended, did they collect name-and-address information on every person who attended, and then post it to a computer file for publicity and information use ? It's interesting to note that during this economic crisis, some disintegrating small companies are finding that their customer list has become their largest and most valuable asset. Do trolley groups compile current “customer lists” of the huge multitudes of people who attend their events ? Do groups understand how to make effective use of this priceless compilation ?

4. It's not as onerous a task as you might assume to hold a major exhibition in a distant location, if you take advantage of assistance from destination venues and event specialists that can provide assistance. I mention the Coronado Springs Resort & Conference Center at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, specifically, not because it's the only place to hold a world-class exhibition (much of tourist Florida can provide that), but because it’s a facility that was specifically designed for just this sort of program, they’re one of the best, and they're situated within the gigantic Orlando entertainment complex. Families from all over the country plan and save for years to take a vacation at one of these family-oriented theme parks. This major and continuous flow of airline traffic has turned Orlando International Airport into one of the busiest passenger terminals in the country. It's one of the few American destinations that many Canadians and Europeans feel comfortable about trusting for a family vacation. 5. Unspoken is the understanding that all this requires planning a couple of years ahead.

We have not been brief but we realized --- as we wrote this essay --- that we needed to be comprehensive if we had any chance of convincing the diverse and understandably skeptical membership of large groups like East Penn, or CERA, or Southern California that they should explore these opportunities. We hope that we have made our point : let’s get thousands of new people to see for themselves what a fascinating hobby we’re involved in.