Re: A different perspective

drgw0579 Wrote:
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> But I feel the most severe threats are out of the
> control of the commission, operator, and Friends,
> e.g. Los Pinos.

I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. One only need look at the hideous residential sprawl from Durango to Rockwood to see how development has destroyed the historical ambience of nearly half of the length of the Durango & Silverton. On the C&TS, I consider the cabin development around Los Pinos unnecessary, tasteless and tacky. How it was even permitted in what is obviously a wetlands is a mystery to me. The fact that nearly all of the area on the west side of Cumbres Pass is private land should be a cause for concern, as well. As they like to say, development is often never more than one owner away in that circumstance.

The most miraculous thing about the C&TS is that BOTH the railroad itself and the surrounding landscape are largely unchanged from nearly three-quarters of a century ago. If EITHER is lost, the entire atmosphere--and attraction--of the C&TS can be compromised to the point of non-viability.