Competitive Process Underway for Railroad Operations at the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park
Colorado Historical Society receives responses to Request for Information and forms Loop Park Communications Committee
DENVER (May 5, 2004) - The Colorado Historical Society is one step closer to identifying a vendor to operate the railroad at the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park beginning in 2005. The Society received responses to the Request for Information (RFI), formed a community communications committee and located rolling stock that could be used next year on the Society's tracks at the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park. The contract with the current vendor, Georgetown Loop Railroad, Inc., expires at the end of this year.
The RFI, published in early April to gather information from a variety of companies that will assist staff in writing a Request for Proposal (RFP), closed May 3. The Society received a number of qualified responses from across the country. RFI respondents range from train and tour operators to municipalities and locomotive restoration firms. The RFP will be published in late May. At that time, any interested party, including the current vendor, may submit a business plan for the 2005 season railroad operations.
Throughout April, the Society attended several community meetings in Georgetown and Silver Plume, Colo. and also with Clear Creek County officials. Following these meetings the Society, with the commitment of the community, formed the Loop Park Communications Committee. The committee consists of Carla Chiles and Mark Graybill of Georgetown; Sarah Walen and Frank Young of Silver Plume; Dennis Lunbery of Idaho Springs, Colo.; JoAnn Sorensen of Clear Creek County; Joseph Bell and Lee Behrens of the Colorado Historical Society; and Rod Wolthoff, counsel to the Society. The role of the Loop Park Communications Committee, which will meet biweekly, is to keep the towns and entire county engaged in the process of identifying a vendor for 2005 season railroad operations and to ensure continued dialogue between the towns and the Society.
"It is extremely important for the Society to communicate with the Clear Creek County community about their needs and concerns for the railroad," said Joseph Bell, facilities division director at the Colorado Historical Society. "We recognize the economic impact the railroad has on the entire county and we want to be responsible community partners. We hope this open dialogue will assist us in making the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park better than ever."
The Society will move its historic Engine No. 9 from Silver Plume to Antonito, Colo., Thursday, May 6, to evaluate the possibility of having the locomotive restored. In addition, the Idaho Springs Mayor and the Society are discussing the possibility of leasing the town's Engine No. 60. Other rolling stock, including passenger cars and an observation car, has been identified for potential use on the railroad at the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park.
"We are looking at all the possibilities available to the Society and its Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park," said Bell. "We are committed to ensuring that the railroad runs for many years to come."
The Colorado Historical Society, celebrating its 125th anniversary, was established in 1879 and is headquartered at the Colorado History Museum in Denver. The Society is a statewide organization with 12 museums and historic sites across the state, including the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park. The Park includes nearly 1,000 acres, 12 buildings and bridges and 4.5 miles of track. The Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Colorado and the American West. This educational institution also contains the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, as well as the Stephen H. Hart Research Library, and administers the State Historical Fund, a preservation-based grants program funded by limited-stakes gaming tax revenues. For more information on the Society call (303) 866-3682 or check out the Web site at
www.coloradohistory.org.
