[LINK] Save a steam train using the web

Tom Worthington Tom.Worthington at tomw.net.au
Sun Oct 1 11:41:10 AEST 2006


There is a campaign underway in Sydney to save Locomotive 3801 
<http://www.3801limited.com.au/helpus.htm>. I was asked to help and 
applied my experience in running a campaign web site to get aid 
workers out of a Yugoslavian jail <http://www.tomw.net.au/onevoice/>.

3801 Limited, the non-profit company which leases the locomotive from 
the government, have a very good web site, to promote their rail 
tours. They added a page about the campaign to save the train. But 
this was a web page by, and for, rail enthusiasts and a few changes 
were needed to make more attractive to the average reader.

Some suggestions I made were to:

1. Replace the video of the train on the web page with a still image.
2. Change the title from "Help Save 3801 Limited" to something like 
"Help Save the Historic 3801 Steam Train".
3. Insert a one paragraph summary of the campaign at the top of the 
page under the photo.
4. Move "How Can You Help?" to above "Media Releases".
5. Invite people around the world, as well as NSW residents, to write.
6. Add an on-line petition.
7. Tell people on-line.

Most of these suggestions were taken up. You can see the results at 
<http://www.3801limited.com.au/helpus.htm> and my notes on it at 
<http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2006/10/help-save-historic-3801-steam-train.html>.

Around about now the Ministers responsible will be wondering why they 
are being contacted by anorak wearing rail enthusiasts around the 
world threatening to take their tourist dollars elsewhere.  ;-)

ps: I mentioned 3801 in my 1998 visit to the Australian Technology 
Park, at the Eveleigh Railway Workshops, where 3801 is housed 
<http://www.acs.org.au/president/1998/past/atp/>.


Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd           ABN: 17 088 714 309
http://www.tomw.net.au              PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617  




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