I believe there was far more to it than that.
Anyone familiar with a typical railroads management responsibilities in the age of steam understand that the engineers and firemen were primarily reported to the mechanical department, not operations. Steam locomotives are extremely maintenance intensive, perhaps the primary reason for their almost complete disappearance from use in the United States in the 10 years following WWII. The Loop (or any similiar operations) do not need someone who is "qualified" to run an engine, they need engine crews that understand the mechanics of the locomotive they are operating, and understand that the primary goal is not to operate trains. The primary goal must be able to safely and consistently operate trains, and to know when to stop to prevent a dangerous situation or damage to the equipment.
Consider recent operations at the Loop.
There has not been a steady CMO or operations manager over the last few years.
The majority of the mechanical work appears to have been performed by various contractors, and numerous reports by "expert consultants" have been generated.
I am not questioning here the qualifications of any of these individuals, but in my opinion the goal should have been to obtain the long term service of an appropriate CMO and limit the use of outside contractors and consultants. Understand that the CMO cannot be just for the steam locomotives, but must be responsible for the mechanical condition of everything; including cars, desiesels, and suport equipment.
Based on a history of repeating mechanical failures, I would have to consider investigating the cause as either: Unsuitable equipment, insufficient maintenance, improper operation, failure of management, or a some combination of the above. Considering that there is very little ng equipment available, then the operations must to be adjusted to match the reasonable capabilities of what equipment is available.
The persons responsible for mechanical; operations; track and structures; promotion and advertising; customer service, ticketing and reservations; funding and budgeting; and overhead management must all work closely together in full sync. It takes all these things to be a succesful railroad, to ignore one or more of these will lead to eventual failure.
The focus cannot be on operations, the focus must be on the support that allows safe and consistent operations.
(Forgot to add) In addition, visitors need lodging, food, services and other attractions. The support of the businesses of the local towns are also a necessary part of the equation.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2008 10:19AM by Dan Robirds.
