Re: "Quality" charters (redux) ...

BrianJ Wrote (on another thread):
========================================
> Even if they aren't up for painting #315 green,
> just #315 'as is' would be worth while in my
> book. A quality charter with a 'rare' engine on
> the C&TS ...  It defiantly falls under the 'some-
> thing you don't see everyday' category, kind
> of like the green 489 did ...


Unfortunately, Brian -

"Quality" charters cost money - and since there have already been some high-quality charters with #315, the pool of potential customers who haven't yet ridden behind her - or who would be willing to pay a bit extra for yet another "quality" charter - is smaller than it was five years ago when she first came to the C&TS.*  One of the main reasons I asked Dennis D'Allesandro about the possibility of painting #315 up as #268 in Bumblebee was to be able to offer something different to spark renewed interest in her.  Per Dennis, some members of the DRHS board were emphatically opposed to the idea, so I presume they would be equally opposed to back-dating #315 from her present 1936-1940 appearance to an earlier, possibly green-jacketed 1930-1935 appearance, even though this is one way to help avoid the 'same-old, same-old, yet another run-by at Hangman's Trestle or Lava Tank' syndrome.

On an entirely different note - IF an adequate number of supporters could be found - I would be VERY interested in re-creating a combined Cumbres-Turn / Flanger Train such as those photographed by Tom Gildersleeve on March 14 and March 22, 1963 - see the thread beginning at [ngdiscussion.net], especially [ngdiscussion.net].   If the requisite minimum of eight tank cars are available, the remaining major downsides to such a charter are:
    1. The significant added cost of a second engine and crew.
    2. Too many freeloaders on its Chama-to-Cumbres route.
    3. Near-Perfect cooperation by Mother Nature is required.
About the only time such a charter could conceivably be run would be IF there is still some snow along the line the weekend before Opening Day, but not so much snow that the RR is impassable.**  Another complication is that 05/11/14 is Mother's Day - most likely further reducing the number of potential customers.  Of course it's possible that there could be snow by the end of the season, but guessing when and making travel plans on short notice precludes anything other than taking a chance on Thanksgiving weekend.

A third possibility is to revive John West's 2011 sugggestion of a 2012 "Toltec Rattler Done Right" - a two-engine train leaving Antonito after lunch so as to have optimum lighting on its front, with a mixed consist like that he caught leaving Antonito in December, 1961.***  I have had preliminary discussions with John Bush regarding running such a train on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, but no details whatsoever have as yet been worked out.  Since the livelihoods of those involved do not depend on making a profit from this charter, we are hoping to keep costs low enough to allow both the use of a second engine and a good income for the C&TS without having to charge an excessive fare.  The primary reasons for selecting this date are:
    1. It is between the end of the summer tourist season and the beginning of the Fall Colors rush, usually a quiet time on the C&TS.
    2. There is a full moon only two days later, so maybe this time we can get the moonrise shot at m.p. 317.5 that we missed in 2010.****
If enough interest is shown, perhaps a second day could be added - maybe even van service between Osier and Antonito on Saturday night and Sunday morning - so that the second day could emphasize some of the fabulous and rarely-exploited run-by locations found between Osier and Cumbres.

- Rüsso MUY Loco

p.s. Any lawyers out there want to help some of us notorious Curmudgeons put together 'Phraud-O-Graph Charters, Inc.' ®
      as a wholly-owned subsidiary of 'Zachman, West, Sperious, Poston, Holmes, Hogan & Forney - Instigators at Large'?
      Of course Earl Knoob will be Chairman of the Board, Emeritus (see [ngdiscussion.net] et seq) ...    

    * See [ngdiscussion.net] et seq, [ngdiscussion.net], and [ngdiscussion.net] et seq for examples.

   ** See [ngdiscussion.net] et seq.

 *** See [www.lifewastedchasingtrains.com] et seq.

**** Just call me "Captain Ahab" - I'm still trying to land this fish!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2013 06:15PM by Russo Loco.