Is there now a "Model Railroader" curse?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

An urban legend concerns a supposed Sports Illustrated curse – an article, and in particular a cover story, usually spells doom for the player or team or coach so featured. So goes the urban legend.

Well in the new [edited post: it’s December 08, not January 09] issue of Model Railroader is a wonderful and extensive article about the Christmas time display at CitiGroup in New York.

And then this news hit the internet:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/citis-cost-cuts-derail-tradition/

Citi’s Cost Cuts Derail a Model-Train Tradition

Citigroup has been cutting jobs and selling business units in an effort
to weather the financial storm. Now, its austerity measures appear to
have claimed another victim: an annual holiday toy-train exhibit in its
lobby in New York.

Bloomberg News reports that Citi has decided to cancel its sponsorship
of the 750-square-foot model railroad, which is visited by more than
125,000 people a year and was first displayed in 1987. The installation
“features 30 separate train sets snaking around a replica of Manhattan’s
skyline, panoramas of the Adirondack and Catskills mountains and a
miniature drive-in theater playing the final shootout scene with Gary
Cooper in the movie ‘High Noon’,” Bloomberg reported.

In a statement, Citi said “the difficult decision to discontinue this
sponsorship was part of Citi’s ongoing expense-reduction efforts.”

A co-owner of Dunham Studios, which operates the model railroad, said
the cost for the 2009 holiday season would have run about $240,000.

==========================

Dave Nelson

2

A sad but necessary cost cutting measure. That 240,000 is part tax payer bailout money. :frowning:

No if we can only get them to drop the 400 million they spent getting a stadium named after them.

3

The Fed should have made sure part of the funds Citi received went for the preservation of the layout. At least THAT would have been money well spent! (unlike the rest they’re hording…)

4

Just typical shortsighted-ness - do away with things that bring much custoemr goodwill because if you just look at the balance sheet it doesn’t bring in any revenue. Not directly - but as a draw for Citi there is probably immeasurable indirect revenue brought in by the display.

I’ll leave it to the reader to look up what Citi is actually frittering away their free taxpayer money on since political discussions are not allowed here.

–Randy

5

I saw that the other day. All to save $240,000. That’s a spit in the ocean compared to the multi-million dollar bonuses the Exec’s were getting for years and years and year. [:(!]

7

As I understand it, the name Citi Field is being changed to Taxpayer Field.

8

Wake up guys. This is just another of big business’ ploys that is used to demonstrate to the public and the media supposedly just how frugal they are going to be in the future…while still vastly over compensating the big wig CEOs behind closed doors. The sum of $240,000 (or the $750,000 the layout reportedly cost to create) isn’t even pocket change to companies like Citigroup, where the stirrers for their morning lattes run more than this annually.

CNJ831

9

Better to shut down a layout then to layoff some people.

That said, I have personally seen big companies roll over on half-a-million dollars on a whim many times.

It’s disgusting.

10

Given this historonics over the auto execs $20,000 plane rides, cutting a quarter million dollar toy train display is probably in their best interest.

11

I wonder how much longer NS will be able to justify the expense of their beautiful office car special, what with business decisions strictly driven by the bottom line?

12

Hi Dave, If there is a “Model Railroader” curse, it’s awfully slow-acting. I wrote MR’s first article about the Citibank Station model railroad display for our December 1988 issue (you can look it up on page 96). I’d think that over 20 years for a show like that is quite a respectable run. Merry Christmas, Andy

13

But they’re doing that too. And it may(?) cost the CEO his job. It should and at least 10% of the management team should go with him. But how about withdrawing from the $400,000,000 deal to rename a baseball stadium CitiField? Who about not converting Bryant Park into a skating rink or some of the other nonsense that CitiGroup gets involved in. And what is CitiGroup doing with Smith Barney amoung other things it bought.

Irv

14

But they’re doing that too. And it may(?) cost the CEO his job. It should and at least 10% of the management team should go with him. But how about withdrawing from the $400,000,000 deal to rename a baseball stadium CitiField? Who about not converting Bryant Park into a skating rink or some of the other nonsense that CitiGroup gets involved in. And what is CitiGroup doing with Smith Barney amoung other things it bought.

Irv

15

But they’re doing that too. And it may(?) cost the CEO his job. It should and at least 10% of the management team should go with him. But how about withdrawing from the $400,000,000 deal to rename a baseball stadium CitiField? Who about not converting Bryant Park into a skating rink or some of the other nonsense that CitiGroup gets involved in. And what is CitiGroup doing with Smith Barney amoung other things it bought.

Irv