Jtgshu wrote:GSC wrote:I was visiting with some family today and a very distant relative, who was a trucker (since retired) said "I saw a TV show last night on trains on the History Channel and it was really interesting - it showed "the bullet train into NY" and it looked like some of your trains too (NJ Transit). It was a really cool show, did you catch it?" Of course I did I said - hhahaha
But we have to realize here that most of the country has NO idea about the current railroad industry, nor do they really care, which is a shame. This is just one example of a "normal" person catching the show and being drawn into it, and learning a little bit about the industry. Id be curious if the Acela and Amtrak start to get a few more riders as a direct result of the show.
This is one great show and could be one great venue to expose more Americans to railroading in general, and perhaps as the poster said help increase rail travel and visits to tourist trains and museums.
I heard Bown in a recent ep. talk about "how green" trains are, when talking about the Acela's resending electricity into the overead wires through braking.
The RRs up until recently have kept a low profile. Yeah, people see their trains at the crossings but the RR co's have seemed to want to operate in their own little world and of course only wanting to deal with the public as little as possible.
This reticence is seen by the utter disdain many in railroading have had toward railfans. Many chase fans away and call them "foamers." Some of that of course may be deserved, but to ostracize anyone liking trains, and actively campaign against them working on their RR? That sounds nutty.
Thankfully, some of this hiding out is starting to change as some railroads actively advertise on mass media - CSX and UP - and show the benefits that rail offers to the public.