Hello, again -
What does the San Juan have to do with it? IIRC, in 1950 the San Juan was painted Pullman Green
(or a color very close thereto), and there is little, if any, resemblance of the current C&TS passenger
car fleet to the San Juan. My matching fund challenge for #489's "Season in Green" is not meant to
be a solicitation from either The Friends nor the C&TS; I am hoping that enough of my fellow railfans
and NGDF participants will donate $20, $50 or $100 each to enable us - along with my match of their
total - to present to the railroad funds sufficient to cover the entire cost of this special historic re-creation.
(Please see the third photo on [
ngdiscussion.net] for an optimum photo of #489 in May, 1950.)
There are "Lurky Lou's" who follow this forum closely, but no longer post, because - in many cases - their offerings of THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED, CAREFULLY PREPARED summaries of D&RGW practice, freely offered in support of the C&TS charter to include HISTORIC PRESERVATION alongside its role of economic stimulus in two of the poorest counties in the entire United States, have been ignored and even ridiculed. One of the most outspoken of these recognized historians, with whom I have often heatedly - but always respectfully - argued over the "green boiler jacket" issue, has enthusiastically agreed with me that it would be entirely appropriate to celebrate the
only fully documented instance of the D&RGW painting a K-36 with a green jacket by re-creating those few months in conjunction with the 60
th anniversary thereof. (These months - very fortuitously - coincide with the 40
th Anniversary Year of the C&TS itself - the 2010 season - which many of us hope will culminate with a MAJOR Celebration on September 3-6, 2010, of the first C&TS train into Chama on Sunday, September 6, 1970.)
I am not a marketing expert, but neither am I naive. If Roger Hogan et al are given the "go-ahead" a.s.a.p. to prepare advertising for the 2010 season featuring an
AUTHENTIC Re-Creation of a green-jacketed #489, circa 1950, it is not unreasonable to expect at least a 5% increase in visitation from serious railfans from around the world next year. (A 10% to 15% increase would not surprise me at all.) And there is NO question whatsoever in my mind that, given sufficient notice, serious railfans and historians from around the globe will be straining the housing accommodations in both Chama and Antonito during the first week of September next year ...
PLEASE understand that I do NOT want to get involved in a confrontation with anyone over this. Roger Hogan, John West and Tom Gildersleeve have accepted me as a fellow Curmudgeon, but my basic nature is really more like that of a Court Jester and I try to enjoy life to the fullest extent possible without overly jeopardizing tomorrow. (I spent Thursday evening, 7/23, playing
3rd 2nd rub-board with a Cajun/Zydeco band at a family oriented bar-b-que, and at one point was leading a parade of a dozen or more young whippersnappers in the 6- to 11-year-old bracket as the 'pied rub-boarder of Hamlin' in an impromptu Mardi-Gras parade.) All I ask is that you not consider my offer to match the donations of my fellow railfans and historians as coming from a far-out foamer, but from a serious long-term supporter of the C&TS and one who is EXTREMELY concerned with the HISTORICALLY ACCURATE preservation of America's railroad heritage as one of the principal foundations of our national character of discipline, responsibility and self-reliance.
VERY Sincerely yours,
Russell B. Sperry, aka El Curmudgeono Viejo y Verde
Volunteer, C&TS restoration track crew, 1970
Volunteer Brakeman, Extra #483 East, 10/16/70
Member, Telluride, Colo. Historic Preservation Commission, 1972-73
Volunteer, Locomotive Maintenance Crew, The American Freedom Train, 1975-76
Named an Honorary Citizen of the State of Texas, February 1976, in conjunction with the above.
Member, Project 2472 / Golden Gate Railroad Museum, since its founding in 1976
Co-Founder and Secretary, Project 3751 / San Bernardino RR Hist. Soc., 1982
Co-Founder and Secretary, Santa Clara River Valley RR Hist. Soc., 1993
Member, Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec, intermittently for several years.
Donor, "Another Century of Narrow Gauge Steam", $200/year since the program's inception.
Editor, 'Narrow Gauge Over Cumbres - The Transition Years, Vol. 1 - The 1960's
*
Editor, 'Narrow Gauge Over Cumbres - The Transition Years, Vol. 2 - The 1970's
**
Instigator, C&TS 40
th Anniversary Celebration, Labor Day Weekend, 2010.
***
Instigator, 60
th Anniversary Celebration of #489's 'Season in Green', Memorial Day - Labor Day, 2010.
In addition, I have written a high-acclaimed satirical screenplay and alternate (mostly satirical) libretti for several well-known railroad songs.
* A screensaver CD Produced by Roger Hogan, Chama, NM, and distributed by Roger, and The Friends of the C&TS, as a fund-raising project for the restoration of D&RGW/C&TS locomotive #483. (Per Roger, Volume I is responsible for about fifty percent of the approximately $4,500 raised for the restoration of #483, which will be donated to the C&TS for use in preparation of an interpretive display near the depot in Chama featuring #483 and a rotary snowplow.)
** A screensaver CD to be produced in late summer 2009 by Roger Hogan and distributed by Roger, and hopefully by The Friends, as a fundraiser for the restoration of a K-37 locomotive - either #492, #497, or a combination of the boiler of one and the running gear of the other.
*** Jay Wimer is working with Alan Loomis on preliminary plans for special trains, and Roger Hogan on publicity. I have volunteered to help arrange presentations and slide shows by historians such as Ernie Robart and others on the earliest days of the C&TS, and to bring in professional musicians to provide entertainment in the form of traditional RR songs, etc. All of this is in the very earliest stages of conjectural planning at this point.
p.s. I will be riding the #315 excursion on September 13 & 14, and the Oct. 2
nd dinner train to Osier. I am pleased to accept your offer to call upon you during my time in Narrow Gauge Country.
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2009 10:48AM by Russo Loco.
