FIRE SALE!! Be a Hero for only $60 ... Ride w/ Volunteers on 08/30!!

Calling All Fans and Supporters of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic R.R.!

The 08/30/10 Tribute Train for the 'Summer of Seventy' Volunteers is ON THE BOOKS!

I have just received the signed charter agreement from Alan Loomis for a Special Train to re-enact
(more or less) the arrival of the first C&TS train into Chama on 09/06/70.   See [ngdiscussion.net]
for additional background information.

Whether or not it will be ON THE TRACKS is up to US!

An additional $4,000 $2,000 or so is needed by August 15 to cover expenses so that this special event can occur. (We are assuming that Lobato Trestle will NOT be repaired by late August.) To give fans of the C&TS the opportunity to meet the volunteers, and participate with them in the re-enactment on August 30, forty (40) seats have been reserved on the train for its sponsors. These sponsor's tickets will be sold beginning July 14th for $60 apiece ($75 for caboose); each ticket purchased will include a copy of Greg Scholl's 1997 DVD 'First Train to Toltec',* and admission to the Bar-B-Que Dinner in Chama following arrival of the train.

Since Lobato Trestle will likely NOT be repaired by August 30; as of July 12 plans for the Re-Enactment / Tribute Train are as follows:
    Locomotive #487** will be painted up to stand in for #483 as she appeared in 1970.
    The consist will approximate that of 1970, but with rider cars instead of boxcars and gons.
    The train will depart from the Chama depot at 2:00 pm for a photo opportunity near the Chama wye.
    The engine will back around the train, and pull the train tender-first through Chama east to Lobato Siding.
    Due to trespass concerns of the adjacent landowner, passengers will NOT be allowed off the train at Lobato.
    The train will be re-configured as the 1970 work train, with the two gondolas and two boxcars ahead of the engine.
    The train will then proceed slowly westbound to the section of 'The Narrows' that is most easily seen from the highway.
    At 'The Narrows', several people will be allowed off the train to re-enact the clearing of the tracks in 1970.  (Photo 1, below)
    The 're-enactors' will re-board the train, which will then proceed to the Highway 17 crossing and pause there for brief ceremony.
    A brief presentation will be held, in commemoration of the 1970 "rusty rail" event. (The C&TS "Golden Spike" - Photo 2, below)
    The re-enactment train will then proceed into town, hopefully in time to avoid re-enactment of its way-too-late arrival in 1970 ...
          (The volunteers and crew missed the bar-b-que intended to welcome the train into Chama by at least two hours.)

A brief ceremony will be held near the depot to recognize the 'Summer of Seventy' Volunteers, and to thank them for their contributions toward saving the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad - which might not be here today were it not for their efforts.   Volunteers and Sponsors will then be treated to a Bar-B-Que, with entertainment by well-known cowboy (NOT Country-Western) singer / songwriter / guitarist Ed Stabler.  (Ed will also be performing at the Friday evening bar-b-que on Cumbres Pass.)

For those who miss Terry Ross and Ernie Robart's presentation & slide show, 'The Early History of the C&TS' on Sunday evening, there will be a repeat performance on Monday (time & location tbd); admission free with sponsor or volunteer ticket stub.

Just Added! Michael Ripley will provide lighting for an evening photo session for Sponsors and Volunteers, featuring locomotive "#483" spotted at the depot, following the bar-b-que. This will overlap with Terry and Ernie's Monday presentation, so those wanting to enjoy both should attend the Sunday evening slide show.   THANK YOU MICHAEL!!

IMHO, that's a pretty good deal for only $60 - which includes a copy of Greg's $30 DVD -
not to mention the satisfaction you'll feel for helping out with a VERY good cause!

Your participation in support of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR is needed more than ever!
Come help us celebrate not only the First Forty Years of the C&TS, but also the NEXT Forty Years of the C&TS!!
As pledged on my post at [ngdiscussion.net], if income from sponsors and donors exceeds the costs associated with the Celebration, ALL of the excess proceeds will go to the fund for the restoration of Lobato Trestle!!!

- Russo

p.s. In order to keep things as simple as possible for the C&TS hard-working reservation specialists who have been dealing recently with major changes due to the fire, they will be selling only two classes of tickets - $60 for one ticket for one sponsor, or $75 for a caboose ticket (the latter are VERY limited in number).  These will be available beginning Wednesday, July 14 - phone 1-888-286-2737.  Please inform me by post or p.m. when you make your reservation so that your name can be added to the list of sponsors & donors, below.

Alan Loomis and I, with the help of a few others, will be contacting as many of the 'Summer of Seventy' volunteers as we can track down to invite them to participate in the event at no cost to themselves.

Those who cannot be with us on August 30, but who wish to contribute to the honoring of the volunteers, please contact me via an NGDF private message to arrange for your donation. Anyone contributing $50 or more will receive a copy of the DVD.

*****

As of today, the following Sponsors and Donors have offered their support:

    06/04 - Jim Poston - TRIPLE Sponsor
    06/04 - Steve Forney - Sponsor
    06/04 - John B. West - Double Sponsor ***
    06/14 - Jackelopette - Double Sponsor
    06/14 - Kim Casford - Double Donor   (rcd.)
    06/14 - Bill Gould - Sponsor
    06/14 - Greg Scholl - SUPER-Hero's Medal *
    06/15 - Craig Linn - Donor   (received)
    06/23 - Jason Rose - Double Sponsor
    06/29 - Ian "Rattie" Ratray - Donor
    06/14 - Urias von Meyenburg - Double Donor
    07/04 - Michele Adams - Sponsor
    07/04 - Cole Adams - Sponsor
    07/06 - Scott Turner - Donor
    07/06 - Tom Casper - Donor   (received)
    07/10 - Chris Callaway - Donor   (received)
    07/12 - Steve Forney - Donor
    07/12 - Brian Jansky - Donor   (received)
    07/12 - Lynn Griffin - Double Donor   (rcd.)
    07/15 - Bill Scobie - Donor   (received)
    07/28 - John & Joanie Cole - Sponsors

To add your name to the list, please reply to this post or send me a private message.

* Greg Scholl has VERY generously donated FIFTY copies (Yes, that's 50 copies) of his DVD 'First Train to Toltec' (1997), which will be presented as a "Thank You" to those helping to sponsor the 'Summer of Seventy Volunteers Tribute Train'.  The first fifty sponsors and donors whose names appear on the hero's list (above) by the deadline date of August 15, 2010, will receive one of these videos - see [ngdiscussion.net] for detailed information about this DVD. I'll be mailing them to those whose donations I've already received in a week or two, as I'm still busy mailing invites to newly located Volunteers.

THANK YOU, GREG!!    

** #487 will probably still be wearing her plow on 08/30, which will help to hide the gold-painted phony polished brass pilot braces; I'm just happy that something WILL be happening that day, even if it can't be 100% perfect. Remember, we'll be celebrating the NEXT Forty Years of the C&TS as well as the FIRST Forty Years!!

*** JBWX has made a reservation for two tickets, even though he CLAIMS that he won't be able to join us. But that's what he said back in May, and then his wife threw him out for a few days ...   Actually, he will be with us at least in spirit and digitally, as back in 1997 a "railroad enthusiast" by the name of John West paid to have #484 added as a helper to the Greg Scholl charter featured in 'First Train to Toltec', with Earl Knoob as the engineer and our own Jeff Stebbins as fireman. (So far as I know, Jeff is the ONLY 1970 Volunteer currently employed by the C&TS; he was our engineer on 05/25/10, and is scheduled to repeat with us on 08/30!!)

Photo 1 - Clearing the tracks in The Narrows, 09/06/70.   © 1970, 2010 by Ernie Robart.


Photo 2 - Replacing the rail at Highway 17, 09/06/70.   © 1970, 2010 by Ernie Robart.




Edited 41 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2010 12:56AM by Russo Loco.