Hi All,
I thought I would give everyone a heads up about the future.
As most of you know Railfest 2012 is coming this August to the Durango & Silverton railroad. Many of you have expressed an interest in riding behind Eureka, but never got the chance. Well, this coming Railfest may well be your last opportunity for quite a while.
In 2013, the FRA waiver that was granted Eureka to continue operation for 5 additional years before having to do a 15 year/ 1472 service day inspection will expire. That means, unless the inspection is done before the next Railfest, Eureka will not be operating as it has for Railfest. It is an enormous amount of work and expense for an individual to do these types of inspections, and I do not know when or if I will do it. I ain't the spring chicken that I used to be.
So, if you have a desire to ride behind an original 1875 wood burning 4-4-0 through the Rocky Mountains, that carried passengers through the Wild West in Nevada before Custer's Last Stand, this may well be you last opportunity for a long time, if ever.
Since 1994 I have taken Eureka to either the D&S and on one occasion the C&TS. I have loved sharing her with many thousands of people since then. It has been the adventure of a lifetime to do so.
Many have said they wish they could ride with us, and often said "next year." Now, there may not be a "next year." So if you are interested, you might want to get in touch with the D&S and make some reservations.
If you cannot make it, I sincerely wish you could have. But perhaps you know of someone that would like this experience, so please let them know.
Hope to see you at Railfest 2012.
Steam Forever!
Dan Markoff