Well, this has been a particularly interesting thread to me. As many of you know, I posted some fifty anecdotes from my time at Chama last year. (These are in the public domain to the best of my knowledge.) My notion was to do a little book (200 pages) of reminisces. There was no particular order to the stories. I wrote them when it seemed appropriate and fun. I did eventually come up with a plan for getting them into a rational order, with chapters instead of "items".
When I looked into the economics of publishing the book, it was very discouraging. Doris Osterwald's fine guidebook to the C&TS RR is an attractive purchase for anyone who rides the train. An old fart's stories, even though somewhat bizarre and risque, would not have the same market. When I checked the cost of printing several thousand copies, about all I could visualize selling, it became clear that the undertaking was going to lose money. So, I didn't go ahead. There are similar concerns with a full history of the C&TS RR, in that not many people are that interested in the subject. It is simply not as interesting a subject to the public as the D&RG or the South Park, which do support nice books.
A goal that most of us share is that there be a good history written about this very unusual preservation project. A key to doing this is to recognize the five eras of the undertaking.
> The original acquisition of the railroad by Colorado and New Mexico, after the awesome effort put in by the original proponents of the concept.
> The initial commercial operation of the railroad by Scenic Railways, Inc.
> The subsequent operation by Kyle Railways
> The disastrous operation by Mr. Bartholomew
> The operation by the RGRPC
I agree with some who have posted their concern that a history written by a member of any one of these groups might not be balanced. Although books cannot be written by committees, it might be appropriate in this case to create an oversight group, including someone from each era, to attempt to maintain a balance.
A couple random notions:
Oral histories are probably not necessary here. Most of the people who have been involved have a reasonable education, and can write their stories.
Some of the outright scandals that have occurred in the history of the railroad, such as the romantic involvement of a member of the New Mexico Railroad Authority with the wife of a director of Scenic Railways, probably cannot be printed - but would certainly delight the readers.
Bob Keller