Russo Loco Wrote:
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> Your third & fourth shots reminded me, Doug
> – What a WASTE!!
>
> IMHO, Al Harper saddled the C&TS with an eyesore
> that should be removed and the area restored
> – or at least sodded over – a.s.a.p.
>
> And having attended a "Sunset" Dinner there, IMHO
> that's a waste as well. Sitting inside a
> building with only a few small windows, behind a
> hill that hides the sunset, reminds me of the
> "Moonlightless" dinner trains of 2010 –
> what's the point? About the only thing I
> can think of that's even slightly positive is the
> shortening of the dinner train's schedule by about
> an hour each way, maybe a little more, from
> Cumbres to Osier and back. But then you miss
> the sunset outside the big windows at Osier, and
> the moonlight reflecting off El Rio de los Pinos
> on the way home, as well as listening to the
> engine work a little from the big curve to the top
> of the pass.
>
> I recommend riding the C&TS, trip #4 (stay in
> Chama, take the bus, ride east to west) to several
> people each year, but cannot in good conscience
> recommend riding the dinner train from Chama to
> Cumbres. It's Osier or Bust for me!!
>
> -
El Curmudgeoño Muy Viejo y Verde
You got it wrong Russ, the pavilion was bought and paid for by Richard and Caroline Tower of the Friends to have a venue for the Cinder Bear train as well as dinners. As much as I disliked the crappy job that uncle Al and his Durango guys did to the CATS, (what was the commission thinking?) this is one thing you can't blame on him. The Friends have had work session dinners up there as well as the section house, and the pavilion wins hands down for creature comfort, although the view of the sunset isn't quite as good as it is watching sunset from the section house.
