Well , I gotta say one thing, the CHS is trying like Hell to fight back. There are banners hung all around Silver Plume and Georgetown proclaiming "The train will run in 2005". I'd post the pic that I took if I knew how. It is appropriate for the parties involved. The CHS Logo was on the left and a cartoonish locomotive was on the right. The only problem is that the locomotive was European, complete with buffers, hidden side rods and port holes. All it needed was a face to become 'Thomas". Using the (formerly) good name of the CHS and an ersatz logo of a childrens television hero. Sly, and underhanded.
I have to envy you folks who live and pay taxes in Colorado. Gambling must be providing you with a bottomless pit of funds, although Black Hawk didn't look like it when I went home. How can I say this when Colorado is crying about the state deficit? Simple, you have decided, through the CHS to waste a huge pile of money that doesn't need to be spent at all.
Think about it. The Georgetown Loop Railroad gets (very slightly) over 10% of the profits from the Loop Operation. With this pittance:
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides Locomotives at no cost to the State of Colorado
The State of Colorado will have to spend millions to get a maximum of three too small locomotives operational.
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides Rolling stock enough for two trains at no cost to the State of Colorado
The State of Colorado is looking at using up the remaining operational life of the only two remaining full C&S Coaches in existence and beyond that has no other equipment to use unless it commandeers the old Box Car Passenger haulers from the C&TS.
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides upkeep, fuel and repairs to all of the equipment at no cost to the State of Colorado
The State of Colorado will have to purchase all the tools, repair machinery, fuel and train and pay state employees to do the same.
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides All of the track work, track maintenance, ballasting, lining, tamping, etc. at no cost to the State of Colorado
The State of Colorado will have to purchase all the tools, machinery, track speeders and train and pay state employees to do the same
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides all of the computerized reservations, ticketing and money handling at no cost to the State of Colorado.
The State of Colorado will have to start all of this from absolute scratch from purchasing the computers to purchasing the programs to programming them, debugging them, and training all of the State Employees to use them. Maybe they can save xome money using old State Surplus 486 models.
The Georgetown Loop Railroad provides all of the engine, train, office, maintenance of way and shop personnel at no cost to the State of Colorado.
The State of Colorado will have to start from scratch and start training its people on opening day.
There are a myriad of other things large and small from the nicely recreated mileposts to station signs to Depot signs that the Georgetown Loop Railroad has provided at no cost to the State of Colorado
It is highly unlikely that the State of Colorado Employees will have the pride displayed by the GTLRR people when it comes to maintaning and upgrading the property.
These same state employees are the ones involved in the intentional sabotage of the GTLRR. The same State Employees who hide beer on State property, imbibe on the job, and are shellacked before they hit the bar at the end of the day. The Same State employees who have been overheard swearing at customers on the Loop. The same state employees who, when on their own radio channel, engage in contests on who can create the most disgusting bodily noise over the air.
I'm sure glad that you folks in Colorado pay for all of this with your taxes. As a former resident of Colorado, if this is the Government that you want, then I'm glad that I moved. I'm sure that you Colorado Residents are glad that I moved, too.
Rick Steele
