Our firm has been engaged to examine the merits – or lack thereof – that may be obtained and shared by the creation of a North American clearinghouse for railroad heritage skills, materials, equipment, services and funding for public and private educational and historical entities – the so-called 501(c)3 organizations. The intent and function would be to not only serve as a matchmaker for institutional needs to individual, business, societal and fiduciary sources, but to also assist with the mechanics of exchange, whether that be by USPS or heavy haul. A corollary objective would be to establish a reliable, secure and easy-to-use Internet venue in which participants would come together on terms and conditions that recognize the unique character of the not-for-profit marketplace. However, such services (sans the tax considerations) may also be of interest to, and could easily be made available to, individuals and for-profit businesses who may want to exchange, share or market their skills, experience, contacts, collected memorabilia, photos and/or other resources with one another or with the railroad heritage community.
Without committing to evolving detail, this would be an Internet site where, for example, the Windswept Flats Scenic Railway, a struggling tourist road that wants to schedule track-work for late October, could learn that the East & West Trolley Museum has a tamper available at that time, that a qualified tamper operator, Josephus Jones, would be willing to donate some personal time in exchange for gas, pizza and lodging, and the Beverly Hillbilly Foundation will provide matching funds to pay for transportation, fuel and pizza. Or, in another simple hypothetical, the Windswept Flats Scenic Railway has a tamper but no operator, whereas the East & West Trolley Museum has a qualified operator but no tamper. In this way, the disparate elements needed to make educational projects successful could come together in situations in which challenging problems would, otherwise, likely never know of available solutions.
In every business endeavor, it is extremely important to have a grasp on market size. Double or even multiple memberships notwithstanding, members of established educational and historical organizations can be – more or less – easily counted. However, getting a grasp on the individual market size is significantly more challenging. In recent years, there have been several extended debates on this and other forums regarding the health of the avocation. About four years ago, without citing a source, one aficionado offered the opinion that one in every 1,000 people was a railfan. We would like to be able to cite some source which, even if flaky, could point to a methodology behind its estimates.
We respectfully ask if any readers have knowledge of any published railfan marketplace estimates or studies of any sort they would be willing to share with us? Unpublished studies may be proprietary and, in that instance, we are asking only for referral to the owner. Any and all direction and guidance you can offer regarding such market estimates is welcomed. Even if the answer is, “No,” we are grateful for every consideration. Thank you.
Hipshot
Without committing to evolving detail, this would be an Internet site where, for example, the Windswept Flats Scenic Railway, a struggling tourist road that wants to schedule track-work for late October, could learn that the East & West Trolley Museum has a tamper available at that time, that a qualified tamper operator, Josephus Jones, would be willing to donate some personal time in exchange for gas, pizza and lodging, and the Beverly Hillbilly Foundation will provide matching funds to pay for transportation, fuel and pizza. Or, in another simple hypothetical, the Windswept Flats Scenic Railway has a tamper but no operator, whereas the East & West Trolley Museum has a qualified operator but no tamper. In this way, the disparate elements needed to make educational projects successful could come together in situations in which challenging problems would, otherwise, likely never know of available solutions.
In every business endeavor, it is extremely important to have a grasp on market size. Double or even multiple memberships notwithstanding, members of established educational and historical organizations can be – more or less – easily counted. However, getting a grasp on the individual market size is significantly more challenging. In recent years, there have been several extended debates on this and other forums regarding the health of the avocation. About four years ago, without citing a source, one aficionado offered the opinion that one in every 1,000 people was a railfan. We would like to be able to cite some source which, even if flaky, could point to a methodology behind its estimates.
We respectfully ask if any readers have knowledge of any published railfan marketplace estimates or studies of any sort they would be willing to share with us? Unpublished studies may be proprietary and, in that instance, we are asking only for referral to the owner. Any and all direction and guidance you can offer regarding such market estimates is welcomed. Even if the answer is, “No,” we are grateful for every consideration. Thank you.
Hipshot
