261 Website Suspension

Well today I found what may be their new site.  But I do not see any contact information.

Thanks for the effort.  I think this site has been around for a while.  I found it a month or so ago and it has "Copyright 2010" at the foot of the page.  Nice pics and videos though!

I doubt that a "Friends of..." site would be the official one.  Hard to believe the official site could or would be hacked to the extent that it became unusable.  What message do you get when you go to the site?

Allan, as far as I know, that is their official website. The name is a little strange, but that's what they use. I get emails from them all the time.

I don't remember ever seeing a published phone number for them.

Not having any contact info on that "Friends" site is really a significant boo-boo!  And if that site is indeed the "official" site, they probably need to find themselves a new webmaster and designer.

I now see why I thought the "Friends of the 261" site was the whole thing. Inside their emails there is a link to 261.com where the actual ticket sales take place. It is that site that is down.

That "Site Has Been Suspended" message at www.261.com could have resulted from any number of things, not necessarily hacker involvement.  But the fact remains that if you're holding tickets for one of their excursions, it's sure a crummy way to keep patrons informed.

It has been down for a while now...I'm surprised that is hasn't been corrected yet.

Look at the URLs for the pages shown on this "Friends..." site. With the exception of the home page itself, they all start with:

http://unofficialmilwaukeeroad261site.webs.com/

And 261.com is still down.

Strange...

Different website hosting companies have different practices when/if hosting fees are not paid... or other administrative problems occur.  There is no standard message per se.  Although embarrassing, it's possible that a renewal fee got overlooked recently? 

I recall checking the site a few weeks ago when Lionel shipped the Milwaukee Road passenger car 2-pack, and all was well with the 261.com site then.

David 

I'm just saying:  If they have excursions scheduled, they darn well need to get off their collective rear ends and get that site--or a new one--up and running.  Makes the whole group and their efforts look very shabby and disorganized.

The SRI's site was hacked last week.  Looks like the same hackers. 

Someone who is going on the trip with me managed to find an alternate site for ticket sales, but still no contact info. Well, looks like either way I'll end up down there on Friday. At least she'll be under steam.

Well it appears that their site is back up and running now.  Pay them a visit here.

Ya everything seems OK now. The "Friends of the 261" is the non-profit organization that owns 261. I've been a member for several years. I don't recall ever seeing a phone number for them. If you contact them via e-mail thru the website they usually answer pretty quickly.

If they mail you a ticket, they usually send you a map with info on when the train will leave etc. but if you print out the ticket yourself you don't get that. If you contact them they can send it to you (perhaps via e-mail). I believe this Saturday's excursion (that I'm going on) is set for their "usual" starting time of 9 a.m. They usually recommend getting there no later than 8:30 a.m. The engine is kept in a one-stall engine house in the middle of a wye in north Minneapolis, with a big parking lot around it. As far as I know, you can get there as early as you want to look around, there's no gates or anything to stop you from parking and looking around. I imagine they start assembling the train pretty early, I usually get there about an hour before the train leaves and it's always been assembled by that time.

p.s. I don't see how it's their fault if their site was hacked. Steve and the 261 folks have always been very 'fan friendly' and work very hard to ensure everyone has a good time.