Re:484 derailment, question

I should have mentioned that there were several (I can't remember how many) outfit cars in the train carrying a number of railroad employees and a flat carrying some large timbers etc. The passenger cars were tacked on to the end of the train.
I don't know anything about the legality of the operation, however we didn't really get into any snow until the Toltec Gorge area and even then there wasn't much. Also, the train I was on was run over tracks which had been cleared the previous day, so, there was an opportunity to inspect the track before my excursion ran. It was really only the third train which would have operated over much track which was inaccessable for close inspection. 'ole George never let anything as trivial as the law stand between him and a dollar.
Regardless, this was one of the most memorable trips on the C&TS I've ever taken and hopefully when the RGRPC gets cought up with all the deferred maintenance it inhereted, it will run something similar again.
Don