R8Guy wrote:I like r8newtown.com but I think the celebrity endorsements on there ("Neil Young rides the R8"???) cheapen an otherwise well-done site.
Well, that is done to attract attention, something our media-frenzied society splatters all over the internet with ads. Neil Young is a well-known Lionel train addict, so he is essentialliy helping us bring awareness to the R8 line. Common sense will hopefully tell the astute person that "this is just a lark, but I get the message. Gotta check out the website." Same thing was done for the Thomas the Tank Engine ads. Children have been very responsive to that.
R8Guy wrote:Also I don't think it's right to have "SERVICE IS RETURNING" on the site when this is just not true right now.
The goal here is to have a "can do" atttitude. Whatever it takes to put a train on the track, r8newtown will examine and discuss with SEPTA, planners and elected officials. The more passengers that see service is returning, the more they will contact SEPTA, legislators and planners. r8newtown does not state
when the service is returning, since that would be very premature. It could be 5, 10, 15, 30 years. Fate is a funny thing. The goal is to the keep the line's existence alive and in the public consciousness. Remember: SEPTA promised to resume service since 1983; service was "temporarily" suspended between 1983 and 2009, when it dropped off the Capital Budget. The difference there is that SEPTA tried to keep the line out of the public eye by removing the lollipop signs, ceased the bustitution, and erasing it from their system maps.
This will be a long battle, and we are prepared for that. Above all the else, the line must remain in the public conscious. If ol' Neil Young can help out, well then that is good.