The Bridge Abutments Have Arrived

Hi Folks:

I got a call from Roger Peterson last night (the day after Christmas) who informed me that the bridge abutments from Mainline Bridges arrived. As you know, it was a blizzard yesterday, so the poor truck driver had a time of it on the roads to make his delivery. But they are here and safe at the farm where our mini Ashtabula Gorge film set is located. The photos below show how they were shipped upside down so they would travel better.

Roger said the truck got stuck a few times trying to back into the driveway. I'm sure the driver was very glad to have this delivery over.

The cat in the last photo that is checking out the bridge was not part of the shipment. :-)
Thank you Mainline Bridges for your beautiful work and craftsmanship of these pieces. I am convinced there is no model railroad bridge manufacturer in the country better then Mainline.

Len Brown
Producer/Director

First Foundation Donates!

Hi Folks!

I have some good news to report! The Robert S. Morrison foundation has blessed our project with a $10,000 grant. This is the first grant we have received for underwriting of the program. I call this an ice breaker, because once you get your first foundation on board and show that you have successfully navigated the grant process with one foundation, other foundations are more likely to help. So this is very good news for our project.

Thank you Robert S. Morrison Foundation for a great Christmas gift!

Len Brown
Producer / Director

The Waiting Game For Grants

Hi Folks:

Its been a while since I have blogged anything, so I figured I needed to let everyone know what we have been doing lately.

First of all, I hope everyone will have a great Christmas and get to enjoy the company of family and friends this season. Christmas around the Brown's home is a very busy time and we are looking forward to having family over for Christmas Eve dinner and celebrations.

So, what has been going on with Engineering Tragedy? Right now we are filling out grant applications like crazy and we have to have a ton of them turned in by Jan 15th and Feb 15th. We have already turned in about 3 applications, but its to soon yet to hear if we won any funding yet.

We were hoping to start filming by this February, but without the funding in place that's not going to happen. Our big grant application with the National Endowment for the Humanities will not give us an answer until July. Having said that, we are not discouraged at all. We feel we have a great story and team! Plus, we really spending a long time putting these next grant applications together, so they are complete and follow the example of other successful applications. We might be running 6 months behind, but that's okay.

We were planning on filming the winter things first, but if we have to start with the summer filming first and then do our winter filming next winter, that will be fine as well. I think this is more my fault, because I did not realize how the grant cycle worked and how long it took to get an approval for a grant.

We are still moving forward!

May you all have a great Christmas!

Len Brown
Producer / Director

The Bridge Abutments Are Done!

Hi Everyone:

I just got word tonight that the bridge abutments are done and ready to ship this next week. You can check out the new photos I posted on the website. http://www.engineeringtragedy.com/The_Model_Bridge.html
The new photos are the last ones at the bottom of this page.

We are also still continuing with our fundraising efforts and have been turning in applications for grants and have more to turn in this next week. Raising funds for a PBS film is always the hard part, but I feel confident we can do it.

Len Brown
Director / Producer

Fundraising Dinner & Coming To Jefferson

Hi Folks:

Our fundraising dinner went very well on Nov. 27,  and we had over 100 people in attendance. Now we need to get our grant applications in to those foundations that want to help us. If you know of a foundation that wants to help or if you would like to donate to the film, please email us or go to our website and click on the donate button. Remember our film has non-profit status through our fiscal sponsor NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Association, so your donation is tax exempt. 

On the morning of Nov. 28th, Patti and I were on Star 97.1 FM for the morning drive show with Mark Allen and Jeremy James. If you missed it, here is the link to the Youtube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxfkfti8THA

Today Patti and I will be in Jefferson at the Jefferson Historical Society to shake hands with people who want to see the train we are using in the film.

Take care!

Len Brown