Seriously, coming up with a subject line for this one was tough.
I was perusing CDOT's 2018 Rail Plan this afternoon, and noticed a nugget down on page 70. The DSNG crossing just out of the station is apparently on CDOT's 2022 plan for the installation of active grade crossing protection - so, lights and probably gates. (It's listed there as "La Plata County, 6th Narrow Gauge Street", but its crossing DOT number matches College Dr, and College would be 6th if the world were orderly.
) Given the number of times I've seen drivers about take out the D&S flagger or dart right in front of a train, that seems prudent.
The other interesting tidbits from a narrow gauge perspective:
- Statistics from the Colorado Tourism Office indicate that 10 percent of Colorado tourists visit a scenic railroad.
- Total ridership across all eight tourist lines is ~950k yearly.
- The estimated economic impact of the C&TS is $14.8M for the five surrounding CO and NM counties
For those who want to have a look:
CDOT 2018 Rail Plan