Edaville Discussion

NErailfan wrote:Gents,

I joined this site mainly to talk about Edaville. I was there with my son for the Thomas event. Just a few things i noticed since last year.

The Atwood siding that they are going to use for the "Ghost Train" didn't look touched at all.. A little weird since they were going to be running trains up them in a little over a month.

There is no direct route to the engine house now. Now you kind of have to take a switch-back to get into there.

I did ask about the Anne-Elizabeth, and the did say they were working on it to have it ready for the polar express.

But the place was geared for the kids, and almost nothing there for us rail buffs. Which is great for my two year old, but not so great for Da-Da

Because unfortunately, railfans don't pay the bills. These places have to play the "dog and pony" show to survive. If railfans took a more active role in saving these things, or working on them, or donating to them, thereby making it worth while for the railroad to cater a little more to the railfan comunity, then they would. I'm not saying that this is right, but most of the places I've worked, other than 1 or 2 weekends a year....we couldn't count on the railfan comunity for anything other than getting in the way, and getting upseat that we weren't running a perticular engine.

You do make a few good points..

But "Getting in the way" is not the right attitude to have.

Do you think when the Union Pacific runs a steam excursion they think all the rail fans are "in the way"?

The problem is there are not enough rail fans to begin with these days. Everybody is so hustle and bustle, and would rather throw there kids in front of TV, or a video game, then take a hour or two out of there day to set up a train set and use some good ol' gray matter and, put it towards some imagination!

Lets just hope Edaville can get back to their roots. Even if it takes a few years...

NErailfan wrote:Do you think when the Union Pacific runs a steam excursion they think all the rail fans are "in the way"?

Speaking as a career guy, yes sometimes the railfans are in the way. But....the UP has the capitol to create an environment where the railfans are made to feel welcomed with a dedicated staff, website, question and answer sessions etc. When you're of the mind set that spending a few million dollars on the railfan program is worth it, you can make it work and work very well. It's all about how it's planned and how much capitol you can invest to make it "welcoming" to everyone.

NErailfan wrote:The problem is there are not enough rail fans to begin with these days. Everybody is so hustle and bustle, and would rather throw there kids in front of TV, or a video game, then take a hour or two out of there day to set up a train set and use some good ol' gray matter and, put it towards some imagination!

Lets just hope Edaville can get back to their roots. Even if it takes a few years...

On that we can both agree.....

Hopefully with the predicted growth of rail in the US, the next generation will have a good amount of railfans.

Edaville needs a lot of help. I feel like over the past decade it's been declining. I was surprised when it wasn't shut down last year. It'll take a whole heck of a lot of luck for it to survive.

I think that the problem is that the present ownership has no interest in anything other than making money. If they could do it without the train, I am sure they would. They did take railroad out of the name.

They're going after the lowest common denominator, little kids.

Contrast that with the WWF.

Regardless of what that corpulent bloviator Pricoli says, he has no interest in Edaville or getting it back to a state where it is worth visiting.

The only reason he is doing anything with it now is because he can't sell it. Rather than having it sit there he is trying to at least make some money.

He may say that he doesn't want to see it go out of business but that is just a bunch of hot air.

If he has one ounce of concern about Edaville he never would have torn up the track.

Unless there is new ownership who want to do something along the lines of WWF, there will be nothing of interest to the railfan at Edaville.

oldrr wrote:I think that the problem is that the present ownership has no interest in anything other than making money. If they could do it without the train, I am sure they would. They did take railroad out of the name.

Making money has to be of some sort of interest. They have to pay the bills somehow.

oldrr wrote:They're going after the lowest common denominator, little kids.

So is every other "tourist railroad" that does Holloween, Santa, Polar Express, THOMAS, etc. How else are they supposed to get the younger generations involved. The 20/30 somethings for the most part really could care less that Edaville was the cradle of the 2' preservation movement. Sad, but true.

oldrr wrote:Contrast that with the WWF.

Yes it is. WW&F is a museum, run by a board of preservation specialists that has a "niche" environment, with a strong volunteer base, and good fund raising potential....Edaville is a for proffit business that can't rely on volunteer help and donations to get by. If it could, the Friends of Edaville would have control....

oldrr wrote:Regardless of what that corpulent bloviator Pricoli says, he has no interest in Edaville or getting it back to a state where it is worth visiting.

Worth visiting for who? The kids evidently like it, and the 20/30 somethings can take the ankle biters there for THOMAS!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! If by that comment you mean for the railfan and or preservation community, then spot on....you hit the nail on the head. But, we're not going there to "visit" or "volunteer" or "change his mind" now are we....and we are definately not paying any of his bills.....

oldrr wrote:If he has one ounce of concern about Edaville he never would have torn up the track. Unless there is new ownership who want to do something along the lines of WWF......

What works on Alna, does not work in Edaville. Never has and never will. The mentality and docterine is too different. Why do you think the Mass guys and the Maine guys are still fighting.......

Its is good to see some great points brought up here..

Let's talk steam at Edaville

As I said when I was there for Thomas I couldn't help but ask at the office if there was steam this year. The nice lady did say they were working on there own for the Christmas season.

However I have seen quite a few ask about it on their facebook page. Normally they would respond with something like "we'll keep you in suspense". But recently they haven't even responded to anyone.

Its funny to me that this is the only secretive part to Edaville.

I do have to admit that I am a 20/30 something. While I have loved trains since being a little boy, I do admit I kinda forgot about them (Edaville included) during my 20's.. But having my 3yr old boy sure helped me get interested again. So yes I am really hoping to have steam this year, as it would be a big deal to drive almost 3 hours to see it somewhere else. I'll save that for a couple years, when we can both FULLY appreciate it.

No rumblings from Booth Bay on an engine being loaned to Edaville again this year? Last I heard Miss Fiji was a ways away from being done, and who knows who is still there after the shake-up of Brenda and Crew leaving. Are any of the "old management" or "operations" people still there? I guess that would be a good place to start. The problem with facebook pages is that they can be started (and or administered) by any "Joe Shmoe" so that's why the information on them can be scetchy at times. That and they could honestly have no clue when she will be out if they (the facebooker) isn't talkinbg with the shop crew.
Lastly, as much as we all like to have definate dates, sometimes they just can't give them out because they don't know.

The problem is there are not enough rail fans to begin with these days. Everybody is so hustle and bustle, and would rather throw there kids in front of TV, or a video game, then take a hour or two out of there day to set up a train set and use some good ol' gray matter and, put it towards some imagination!

Or maybe on a Mass Bay RRE excursion trip.. Or at least maybe DVR "Trains and Locomotives" on RFD-TV..

Lets just hope Edaville can get back to their roots. Even if it takes a few years...

I really hope so, but frankly, if the economy gets back to where it was, and property values start rising, it's going to be tough unless it can become hugely profitable.

Let's hope property prices in Alna never even begin to approach the prices in Carver.. Preservation takes money, and sadly.. See the first quote..

It takes people at the helm who realy want to railroad, and are in it for the long haul. Railroading is not a short term investment.....never has been and never will be. Edaville could use the help...and a lot of capitol investment....I hope they at least get one of thoes two.

It takes people at the helm who realy want to railroad, and are in it for the long haul. Railroading is not a short term investment.....never has been and never will be. Edaville could use the help...and a lot of capitol investment....I hope they at least get one of thoes two.

Well, I can agree with the "hope" part, but I don't think you can look at Edaville in quite the same light as a "common carrier" railroad. For one, they have no connection with any other line, they have no "on line customers" doing any shipping, and they don't serve in "getting in one place to another". Right now their business isn't truly "railroading". It's providing entertainment for the general masses. At least that is how it is viewed by the ownership. I don't truly believe Delli Priscoli is in the preservation business. Even if he was, one can only hemorrhage money so long. What it would take is a non-profit preservation organization that also has the talent and know-how to draw paying visitors. Sadly I highly doubt said organization, no matter how devoted could afford to purchase or long term lease the property it sits on, unless somebody happens to donate the right Powerball ticket.

I think that you make some very good points, but I would be to differ that they aren't railoading. There are many different types of railroading......

Steamer69, thank you for your reply.

The present Edaville seems to be unique in that it seems to be geared solely to little kids. The same can't be said about most other tourist railroads because the others have things that are of interest to adults.

Edaville at present lacks a compelling ride and steam. It's unlikely that too many people would go there for the train as it stands right now.

What is also unique is the rapid decline of Edaville under the present ownership. In the early days of the present regime the railroad had steam and a compelling ride.

I am surprised that the present ownership doesn't switch over to 15 inch amusement park gauge and use the smaller and more economical equipment. Their 1.75 mile loop will seem longer with the smaller equipment.

We're fortunate that most other operations have competent management. Every operation is different. However, one fair way of comparing the competence of management is by comparing what they started with versus what they have now. I would expect that the lowest graded management teams would simply have maintained the status quo. The current Edaville management team is well below zero because they have gone downhill so far when compared with what they started with. In 2004 they had a 5.42 mile mainline, now it's 1.75 miles. They operated steam back then, now they don't.

Conway Scenic started with 10 or 15 miles of track, now look what they have. They run multiple rides to different locations.

A good tourist railroad will have something for the average adult, kids, and railfans. Edaville has nothing for the railfan or the average adult. It's just a place for little kids, who are not yet experienced enough to spot a tourist trap. It's too bad because if they expanded on what they had when the present regime started, they could have built up a nice operation that would have been of interest to a lot of people.

Another black mark on the Edaville management team is the very limited schedule that they operate. Their operation is so poor that they're only open a few weeks of the year.

Up in the northern part of MA it doesn't make any sense to visit Edaville, your money would be better spent at Canobie. If you are interested in a tourist railroad then go to the Hobo, Clarks, Conway Scenic, The Cog, Maine Narrow Gauge, or if you want to drive further, WWF, or Boothbay.

If you're in RI or southern MA it would make more sense to take the kids to 6 flags or if you want a tourist railroad go to the Valley RR.

Why go to Edaville as it is presently?

As for getting youngsters interested in railroading, going to Edaville makes little sense. Take the kids someplace of quality.

Fortunately, it doesn't take too much to please little kids. That fact is something that the present Edaville management team is exploiting to the max.

Oldrr,
Good to be chatting with you all about this. I will have to agree with you about how it's geared. They are trying to make a transition in business model that IMO will not serve them well for some of the very reasons that you have mentioned in competition. They are loosing site of what made them Edaville. There used to be this spark that brought a special reaction from young and old alike when it was mentioned....now, not so much. I don't think that it is just the ride that is lacking, but the atmosphere (and by that I don't mean a weather climate). It's not something you can buy, but something that (like the trains) has to be preserved. You need to get back to what made Edaville Edaville.
In terms of the "decline", I would not say that it was the fault of the current management, but a philosophy of a manager in the not so distant past. This managers docterine has completely killed 2 railroads (Edaville being one of them) and severly hurt a few others to the point of almost no return. The railroad this manager is at now is being plagued with power issues, derailments, and customer dis-satisfaction on an almost epic scale. People who are tought to think and run a property a certain way will always tend to do so, and the only way to fix that issue is to "clean house" on the managerial side of things. This may lead to some of the "employees" satying or going, but trun over is not always a bad thing. I do agree....they could use some different views/opinions/ and some young fresh blood never associated with Edaville with new ideas and understanding. There are people like that out there, but they don't come for 10 or 15 bucks an hour......
The 15" gauge idea is an interesting one, however, I think if they went that route then they will have killed any chance of Edaville being Edaville. I would be open to that idea, but a little causiouse of it as that may be the final nail in the Edaville coffin. The elixur Edaville needs is right infront of them, if they are willing to listen and to swallow it. It may cause some hurt feelings, but if the end goal for everyone is the sucess of Edaville (as they say) wish in one hand....poo in the other...and see which one fills up faster.

I hardly ever post but I can't stand listening to old rr go on and on about how Edaville is so horrible. If its that bad don't go there and move on. where did you get your RxR managment and steam locomotive operations experience? I hate when peolpe are so critical when they don"t know what they are talking about.