OK I’m donning my asbestos suit, and waiting in fear of what is to come, but I’ve noted the discussion that has been going on re. C&TS with interest, and also some sadness at the toll it seems to have taken on the list. I therefore thought it might be worth coming at this from a different (British) perspective, and seek to address a broader question of what do we mean by preservation when it comes to railroads (or even railways!)?
I’m a member of the oldest railway preservation society in the world, the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, which is responsible for running the Talyllyn (pronounced Taly-th-lin) Railway in Wales. The society was founded in 1950, and took over the running of the line in 1951, so we have some 57 years of experience to go on. But what exactly have we preserved?
In 1951 the line had one barely operable steam locomotive, and one unserviceable, four 4-Wheel passenger cars and one caboose (guard’s van), and a set of track that was held in place by earth and weeds for a good proportion of its length. Come today, and what do you find trackwork laid to full professional standards, six steam locos, we have over twenty passenger cars, some historic from other lines, but some 9 bogie cars were built new or heavily rebuilt in the 1970s/80s. We boast that we still have the line’s two original locomotives in regular service both now over 140 years old, whilst the four original passenger cars also see regular service, and the caboose occasional service. However, in truth very little of any of these is actually now original since they have been re-built so many times over their lifetime. We’ve even extended the passenger journey on the line to include part of the old mineral extension, we’ve rebuilt depots, added new car sheds etc. So what exactly have we preserved?
I would argue we have preserved the most essential thing the ‘Spirit of the Talyllyn’. Yes someone returning fifty years later (and we still get some!) would barely recognise some things, but they recognise the spirit, they still see the same hills, they still experience the joy of riding behind a real steam engine, on a real narrow gauge railway. Albeit they can now do so on cushioned seats, and enjoying a smooth safe ride, unlike those who rode our trains in the society’s early days. So what do hear from them? “Yes it’s changed, but somehow it’s still the same”.
The issue is, as I think has been said elsewhere, of preservation vs evolution. Our railroads evolved, but the point is do we seek somehow seek to stop that, to hold back the tide, or do we let the process continue, to allow our railroads to do what they were designed to do to serve the communities they run through, however that is achieved? Some will argue that this cannot happen when a railroad becomes a ‘tourist’ line, but why not? Was not the purpose of building railroads (apart from allowing some people to make serious amounts of money) to further the economic development of the communities they were to serve? If then, as in the case of C&TS, they now bring substantial numbers of people to a small corner of Colorado to ride the trains and spend their money in the shops and hotels, then I’d say it’s still doing just that. Just in a different way. In fact they are acting just as the original railroad companies did in adapting to new sources of traffic and revenue, and building new facilities as required.
Now I know some will point to the charter of the C&TS, and say there is a commitment to historical preservation, which is fine. However, absolute historical preservation, if it truly means halting the evolutionary process, and even trying to turn back the clock, costs.
This is where I see the other great tension, when you expect your running operations to turn at a profit, and indeed bring in a business organisation expecting them to pay a dividend to you for the privilege of running your line, whilst also being historically accurate. The problem is that the 21st Century public, whilst they wish to have the experience of the 19th Century, don’t actually want to do it in a way too removed from the 21st Century world. Therefore, while they might not expect DVD entertainment in every car (though some might!), they do at least expect a reasonably smooth ride, and a reliable schedule, with car parking, food, toilets, shops, and other things which would be classified as essential in today’s world. The railroad is now also in a competing tourist ‘market-place’, vying for the tourist dollar with other attractions. Meeting these expectations, and providing a sufficiently attractive tourist ‘experience’, is so often where the tension between ‘operation’ and ‘preservation’; can occur.
Like it or not the C&TS, along with the D&S, are now part of the history of the D&RGW, they are part of the legacy. The question is do we seek to keep this like a shrine to the past, or allow the legacy to evolve and develop, as it would undoubtedly have done if the D&RGW had continued its narrow gauge operations beyond the 1970s, but seeking to preserve the essential spirit of the Rio Grande? For my two-cents (currently worth about 1.2 British pence) I’d say that the C&TS have got it about right, and certainly as a visitor to Chama and Antonito, I have found it has reflected an age of railroad operation, which I never knew, but which I’ve been fascinated to find out about. However, it is also right to vigilant, and to respectfully question issues as they arise, but being careful about picking fights.
Please don’t get me wrong I’m not anti-preserving the past, (being married to a historian I certainly can’t say that ‘history is bunk’!). However, what I do think is that we need a sense of perspective, to be able to see what really is important in terms of preservation, and what we can put down to adapting to changing times just as the original railroad would have done. I’m particularly sad, if I’m honest, at people get so hung up on things that they ‘take it to the mat’, and leave others feeling hurt by their remarks. It has therefore, made me really sad to see people leave the list over these issues.
As I say, I wait with some trepidation for the reaction to what could be seen as an unwelcome intervention from a Brit who doesn’t know squat! I also know what I have said is not original and has been said elsewhere, so I apologise in advance if people feel I have simply repeated what as been said before, or been too simplistic etc, or indeed long-winded!
Finally, my thanks to all, who contribute such fantastic information that I’ve enjoyed learning about these past few years.
Ian in the UK
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2008 12:04PM by IanD.
