Getting Around—A look at moving people from here to there at parks and attractions.-By K.F. Moffett How tempting it is to pity the poor train and to lament the sadly overlooked trolley. In the early part of the twentieth century, nearly all mid-sized American cities had some sort of electric trolley line running through them. Throughout the Midwest and East Coast, cities were connected by train lines. Then along came the automobile, and automobile manufacturers who bought out most of the trolley lines to “make improvements.” They pulled up the tracks, and the trolley became a museum piece, a curiosity. Same with trains—in the United States at least. But take a trip to your local amusement facility, zoo, or mall, and you’ll see that trolleys and trains roll on. “It’s something everyone can ride together—families, seniors, physically challenged people. There are always tons of strollers in the waiting area—it’s a popular ride year-round,” says Kathy Burrows, public relations manager for Hershey Park, home of the steam-driven Dry Gulch Railroad. Ditto for Dutch Wonderland—in Lancaster, Pa.—which has two train rides, both covered-coach, gasoline-operated C.P. Huntingtons, one of which has been at the park since 1963. “There’s something mystical and fascinating about trains,” agrees Chris Barrett, the park’s assistant general manager. In most cases, the trains are attractions in and of themselves, moving in a completed circuit with passengers getting on and getting off at the same station. Other trains are more utilitarian, combining a ride with a passenger ferry from one end of the park to the other. Some of the trains have been in place for years and years; others are newly added and designed to look old. Some have tracks, and some are gas powered and run on rubber wheels. But no matter what the make or model, these multifunctional people movers are the silent anchors of many parks. Wattman’s Attention to Detail Parks and attractions without a rail line or without the room to build one look to trackless trains as an option. Malls and enclosed attractions often find that a train with a lower turning radius, and one that doesn’t run on gasoline, is a smarter addition for their facilities. In French, Wattman is the name given to the conductor of a train, electric tram, or trackless train. In Quebec, Wattman Trains and Trams manufactures beautiful 33-foot-long trackless trains designed in the nineteenth-century style. Wattman’s founder and president, Gilles Richard, started the company in 1990 in Montreal, Quebec, after a career in the entertainment industry. Wattman’s most popular product is a 33-foot-long kiddie train, called the Mini Express, which accommodates 24 children or 18 children and adults. The trains, of course, are intended for a smaller scale than the full-size models at outdoor facilities, but the appeal is very much the same. Richard says that each of his company’s products is planned and manufactured according to rigorous guidelines—not only aesthetic concerns, but also safety precautions and the basics of comfort. “Our trains are a lot different from most companies’,” Richard says. “Most trains are made with fiberglass; ours are all wood, all electric;” a detail that makes indoor operation possible, and that makes the trains more environmentally friendly. The trains run on a single 24- or 36-volt battery, which are rechargeable overnight and max out at about four mph. Their front wheels are designed like a tricycle’s, making it easier to negotiate those tight turns. Currently more than 70 Wattman trains can be found in malls and amusement facilities around the world, including the Philadelphia Zoo, Wild Adventure in Valdosta, Ga., and the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, as well as many malls in Japan, Italy, and Brazil. Wattman also rents out its trains for special events. At IAAPA 2003, Wattman provided a shuttle/tram inside the convention center to ferry convention goers from one end of the floor to the other. Richard says that it was the ideal way to show off the company’s other model, The Tram Express, which looks like a classic streetcar. Attendees could see the functionality as well as the striking, high-quality design of the tram. Richard adds that it was a successful show for his company, “the best show we’ve had in five years.” The New Old-Time Trolley According to Specialty Vehicles Inc. (SVI) President Nancy Muñoz, statistics show that people-mover ridership increases with the implementation of trolleys, adding that cities with federal money for public transportation often choose them over buses. “It’s something different,” she says. “Trolleys have the same integrity as buses, but they are more attractive, more fun to ride. The old-fashioned element is there.” Specialty Vehicles Inc., founded in 1982 and an IAAPA member since 2000, is one of the world’s largest marketers and distributors of people-moving transportation vehicles. SVI is the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Supreme Corporation of Goshen, Ind., Morgan Chance, and Severn-Lamb Ltd., of Warwickshire, England—three manufacturers that build a wide variety of people-moving equipment. Headquartered in Henderson, Nev., SVI is involved in the marketing and distribution of trolleys, trams, people movers, shuttle buses, and other vehicles. Its clients include cities, universities, amusement parks, airports, hotels, and zoos. The trolleys that SVI distributes have a “body on chassis” design and operate on six rubber tires, unlike old-fashioned trolleys, which are propelled by an operator who applies a grip-and-release motion to an electric cable that runs in a conduit under the street. SVI’s trolleys are fueled by regular gasoline and operated by a certified driver. One model, the Spirit of America Trolley (SOA), looks like a traditional trolley and costs about the same as a midsize bus. “The Spirit of America Trolley is what we call a ‘Trolley-Bus.’ It’s an inexpensive vehicle that features the trolley theme and demeanor,” Muñoz says. The Spirit of America has a seating capacity of up to 29 passengers, is Altoona-tested (a necessary test for public transport vehicles purchased with federal money that checks for structural integrity, performance, maintainability, noise, fuel economy, reliability, and safety), and is ideal for private charters or municipal transit. The ride is comfortable; the loading and unloading are easy. The SOA combines standards for public transport (ADA accessibility, etc.) with the old-fashioned/historic touches (things like brass bells and interior passenger chimes). SVI’s products come in various sizes and are able to accommodate up to 40 passengers, transporting commuters just as a bus would. SVI has models that are totally open, semi-open, or completely enclosed. As with steam engines and re-created wooden trains, trolleys appeal to a nostalgia for bygone modes of transportation, an open-air ride in the city, the clang-clang-clang, as the song goes. And, like Wattman’s electric trains, SVI’s new trolleys are environmentally friendly as well, on a larger scale. They run on a cleaner-burning, bio-diesel alternative fuel system, a blend of vegetable oil or recycled restaurant grease mixed with regular diesel fuel. The trolleys, therefore, have lower greenhouse-gas emissions and burn a biodegradable fuel. They also raise eyebrows whenever they pass by, especially in heavily touristed areas, a phenomenon that Muñoz says is ideal for a city trying to sell advertising inside and outside the vehicles. “A trolley is an attention getter,” she says. “People like the nostalgic vehicles, and our customers can choose the colors they want for their trolleys. They usually choose the brighter colors for publicity. Advertising opportunities are also great. Because a trolley is more visual, people can do more with advertising, which, of course, generates increased revenues.” SVI also sells a wide array of trams, which are more multifunctional for amusement facilities and are often used for transporting passengers within designated areas such as parking lots. They differ from trolleys in that they are not licensed to operate alongside public traffic, are slow moving, and come in multiple car configurations that track behind each other. SVI’s most common tram design, an open-air model, lends itself well to the amusement industry and to guided tours. “Trams are good for special applications, including those found at universities, big parking lots, zoos, amusement parks—anywhere you have a large number of people that you need to pick up at one time,” Muñoz says. “You can pick them all up with just one driver and drive them to their destination. Trams are made for a slower speed, open-air operation where a large number of people can get off or on in less than one minute. Loading or unloading a large group of people on buses can take a much longer time.” SVI is the exclusive distributor of the Classic American Tram, a vehicle outfitted with rubber flooring, fiberglass seating, step lighting, public address system, and handicap accessibility (with a platform wheelchair lift), all of which make it an ideal vehicle for attractions such as amusement facilities. Optional features include weather enclosure curtains, public address amplifier, advertising signboard, and seat belts. Some of SVI’s clients include the Las Vegas Strip Trolley, Old Town Trolleys in San Diego, and many clients in Asia, including the Singapore Zoological Gardens.