A Students View – Travel Critique of the RailPark #4
By: Keelin Davis
We’re back with the 4th and final installment of our “A Students View” series. In this week’s blog post, we have shared some insight from Keelin Davis from his visit and critique of the RailPark.
Here’s what he had to say about visiting with us:
The Historic Rail Park and Train Museum is an interactive journey through the history of railway travel through the Midwest and East regions of America. This destination features tours through multiple historically significant railcars to learn about their individual uses and features. There are also historical displays located inside the main building for visitors to read and learn about artifacts and factoids of historical railway travel. The museum is a converted train depot that still contains original materials and foundation from its first uses. The rich history of the location and importance of the railway allows for a highly educational experience that opens your eyes to 1900’s transportation and economy.
This destination was selected because I was interested in the business side of train economy, and it had always caught my eye when driving past. The L&N Railroad was a massive business operation in the 1900’s and we are right in the middle of Louisville and Nashville, the two powerhouses of the train industry, in Bowling Green. This is something I felt like I had to experience.
The Rail Park was an experience for all ages to enjoy. During the tour, I found that they appealed to three main target markets: history buffs, families with young children, and college students.
For the history buffs, there were picture displays that contained facts and information about the manufacturing and machinery of the trains. For families with young children, there are. interactive elements, such as demonstrations, that allow kids to learn about life on a train.
For college students, there are many business aspects to learn about and the industry has much to be learned from throughout the tour. The tour includes an engaging, hour-long tour through the historic train cars filled with artifacts, diagrams, and even videos for tourists to watch. There was enough variety in content that you stayed engaged the whole time and it was very surprising for our tour group.
They do a great job of appealing to their three targets, especially through.
interactions with the tour guides. They can relate to all ages and present facts and stories that everyone can appreciate and relate to.
