Re: ex C&TS Rider Cars D&S and Como

This has been an interesting assortment of ideas and opinions. I believe Jason and Will have summarized most of my viewpoints on the seating question, both the realities and the challenges we face with these small cars. Of course, having worked at the Loop I'm probably conditioned to lean that way anyway. But thank you all for chiming in.

Please keep in mind that these cars are not intended for regular use on the Cascade turns or on longer duration trains. Basically, they should serve well on various special charters, short trips and as standby cars to be kept in Silverton or Rockwood in case we need to bring people in or out of the canyon in a hurry. As such, we will make them as comfortable as possible while also trying to carry more people a short distance to a waiting bus or terminal.

As we design and re-design this first car, we are doing some experimenting. So the car is literally changing shape from day to day, to the possible consternation of our patient carpenters. But we also need to keep the cars within a budget that does not allow for upholstered seats for a car that will realistically be used very little. For comparison, upholstering new seat backs and bottoms in a coach costs multiple thousands of dollars. Instead, we can do more structural upkeep and improvement on the boxcars with this money, such as new plexiglass to improve viewing, paint, etc. And we can always go back and make more improvements later.

Anyway, we'll see how it all works out. I was honored to have John Bush come by the other day to visit, and he offered some valuable history and suggestions.

Happy railroading.