Railfest

It is a bit like buses, you wait months and then three come along. So it is with my blogging here. A recent and very major event at the NRM worth considering has been Railfest. In terms of the exhibits assembled, it was a brilliant composition although I am told 4472 looked a bit incomplete. I say I am told because I was not there. I guess I could not expect to have been sent any tickets and what with a bit of  a downer health wise and the week co-inciding with one of the busiest half terms in history between the private and the national agendas we were never going to make it. A good friend did as a trader and he had a hard time. Now that a little bit of time is past I thought about finding some wash up. First I started in the Independent with this feature

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/railfest-onetrack-minds-7811828.html

On the  2nd of June it "estimated 100,000 fans begin flooding through the turnstiles at Railfest 2012 today". So how many did come? I raised the question on my Facebook and got this today "‎33,800 was the figure at Railfest over the 10 days......another 10,000 or so at the free museum entrance." I don't know if it is right and if anyone at the museum wants to send me official figures I will happily publish them. As a publicly funded museum I think it is important when organising spectaculars that a reasonable financial result transpires even if the gate number may not reach an estimate. I have no knowlege about the finances but hope that it is all hunky dory as I know a lot is planned around getting the A4s back next year and that would be a spectacle to draw me.

If anyone reading this can point us to other discussions about the success of the event, I should like to pull such threads together.  At the NRM press page there is nothing more recent than the 29th May as I write and so no helpful assessment there http://www.nrm.org.uk/pressoffice .

I can now add some links which confirm the figures I give so see http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9761391.Railfest_attendance_numbers_blow/ . And more with a lot on the museum finances http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/rail-museum-faces-200-000-bill-after-blow-over-ticket-sales-1-4845733 .

 

Railway Timetables on Facebook

It is always a concern to promote use of The Forsythe Collection. Whether that is in the core publicity collection in the Search Engine archive at York, whether in publication as in the preceding entry, or in the various elements like tickets which did not go to York. I have been using Facebook extensively. The principal forums being my own page https://www.facebook.com/robert.forsythe.39 or a page we have focused on material for sale https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robertatforsythe/148176968569660 . I am aware that there is a case for wider Facebook forums more targetted at subject content. To that end I have created two new Facebook pages. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Railway-Timetables/404742136234317 is to showcase items from The Forsythe Collection which will naturally involve in the main items at York. https://www.facebook.com/ThomasEdmondsonTickets is self explanatory! Unlike my other pages each is specifically designed to enable contributors to upload their own material into albums around the theme. Please do come and like these new pages.

Encyclopedia of Titled Trains

Railway Magazine, Nick Pigott, Chris Milner and others have published Encyclopedia of Titled Trains . 18 pieces of Forsythe Collection publicity are shown. Not everything available could be used naturally. Scotrail's Young Explorer is  a text entry but you can have an original leaflet from http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1067804 .