Gentlemen,
As a firefighter of over 40 years of experience, I can tell you brush fires start in more ways than just a coal powered tourist trains! I live in Florida and we have brush fires all over the place but we are not blessed with steam powered tourist trains. While the coincidence of a coal fire train cannot be ignored as a possible source...any investigator worth his substance would not jump to that conclusion without really investigating fire origins for a definitive source. Cigarettes carelessly discarded, lightning strikes, and discarded bottles (attains a focal length in the sun that acts like a magnifying glass and ignites nearby foliage) I would say cannot be eliminated without a thorough investigation.
I think a very creative solution to the railroad at a cheap cost would be to employee volunteer firefighters who are also narrow gauge fans to assist the Fire Patrols. I am sure their are also other USFS "Red Card" (card awarded by the forest service to fight forest fires) certified guys like me who would love to ride behind the train and enjoy the sites along the right of way. Spend a week at a time riding the rails and possibly fighting fires is a dream come true of both passions.
As an idea, I would refurb that big motor car in the Antonito yard, which has enough room for 3-4 fire fighters and gear and pull a small car which would have about 150-200 gallons of water, with gas powered pump, a foam injection system, and a small 1" reel. With that system, 2-4 highly motivated, narrow-gauge firefighters we would have a ball. Heck, build a real life "Fire Goose" out of parts that currently exists...weather it up and let us go at it every fire season as an element of the Friends organization. The days off could be spent working on other projects. Firefighting is not for everyone, but those of us who do it, we love it...combine the two...we would be in heaven!
Just an idea.
Jon
