There has been a great deal of discussion on and off this board and on the Dead Goat about community marketing, railroad marketing, community interests and railroad interests.
Let me throw out one conclusion, as well as some observations. The conclusion: many times, the community's interests (economic and otherwise) and the railroad's interest (no matter who is operating it) parallel each other--but sometimes they don't. THAT is what is important for all to understand.
Let me start with the railroad's interest. The railroad MUST have adequate passenger counts to survive--probably at least 50,000 per year, and more (70,000-100,000) would be much better. In what is a very competitive tourist market, it must attract those passengers from wherever it can. Some of those passengers, from wherever they come, may not want to stay in Chama or Antonito. That's unfortunate for the local merchants, but the railroad can ill afford to turn those passengers away just because they don't fit the local merchant's "profile" of the ideal customer. It would be wonderful if the railroad could rely solely on traffic generated from auto/RV-borne travellers staying overnight in Chama or Antonito accomodations. But, today, it can't.
On the community's side, their interest is to attract business (from various sources) to the community. Ideally, the commerce attracted brings in fresh "outside" money to the community while not overtaxing local services and resources. In the tourist business, that's a "destination" traveler who buys lots of merchandise and services locally and can be "snared" for multiple days. Some of those people may have no interest in riding the C&TS and others will do so only if there are other attractions that appeal to them in the area.
Clearly, the parallel between railroad and community interest is clear. Both need to attract tourists to the Chama/Antonito area. Both would probably benefit from the creation of a broader "destination" experience to expand the base of potential customers for both railroad and merchant. Railroad and community should work together on that.
Until that day when there are enough "destination" tourists to support the railroad, it is going have to garner passengers where it can, even if that means bringing them in on a "day" basis. That is a reality that local merchants will have to accept.
Two final observations. The railroad alone can not solve Chama and Antonito's economic concerns, though the employment alone it creates bolsters those economies. The other observation is that the local merchants (particularly in Chama, but in Antonito as well) have made great strides in the last 3 decades (and I've been coming to Chama and Antonito for over three decades!) in making a visit a pleasurable experience.
Though the communities and the railroad may not always have the same interests and they may have disagreements, the fact is that they need each other very much. A Chama and Antonito without the C&TS would be unthinkable.
