Re: The San Juan Extension - R.I.P.

Yes, I too miss seeing pairs of K-37s battle up the hill east of Durango, but I'm very grateful for what's been saved and is being preserved - especially that so much of Chama is still intact and accessible.

But save the entire San Juan Extension? How??

It's hard enough to sell a family with children or many older folks on an all-day round trip to Osier from either Chama or Antonito, and it's an even longer day if you add a bus ride to the beginning or end of a trip over the entire line. How would you fund maintenance of 200 miles of track between Alamosa and Durango, much less support the line to Farmington? Yes, hard-core fans like myself might stay overnight in Alamosa both before and after a two-day round-trip to Durango once every few years at $250 or more per ticket (three days - plus a second night in Durango - if you toss in a ride up to Silverton and back as in the old Kolor Karavan days). But do you honestly think volunteers could be found to help keep 300 miles of isolated railroad intact, much less in decent enough shape to be safe to ride with trains more-or-less on schedule? Would #481 and #486 have been rebuilt if the Silverton Train had to subsidize an additional 250 miles of track? I'll wager there are some on the Commission who would be very happy if the east end of the C&TS was at the Village of Lava Tank or the Town of Big Horn (if either of them existed and was on a good paved road) ...