Every Little Bit Helps? ... LET'S CLEAN UP THE DUMP!!

Hello John* et al -

C&TS' East End has LOTS to offer - some incredible vistas of 'The Wild West', with the
Sangre De Cristo mountains in the background, for example - but there is one section
of the ride into and out of Antonito that is a REAL eyesore, and probably affects riders'
impression of the C&TS more than a lot of us railfans realize because we are focused
on the locomotive and train: the unofficial 'Antonito Town Dump' along the east side of
the tracks for the first mile or two south of town.

IMHO, it would do the railroad - and thus the town - a LOT of good to clean up this mess once and for all, and enforce the County regulations that should be in place to KEEP it clean!   I have participated in beach cleanups here in Ventura, and would gladly lend a hand for a day or two if the C&TS, The Friends, the Antonito Chamber of Commerce or whatever - or ALL of the above - would organize a Cleanup Day or Cleanup Weekend to address this problem.  Is there a waste disposal company in Antonito, La Jara or Alamosa that would like some good publicity? Approach them for the donation of a truck or three to haul off the trash!!   With national attention currently focused on the C&TS - and the Governor of Colorado expected to attend the 40th Anniversary Celebration just nine weeks from today - this might be the best opportunity in YEARS for us to do something positive for Antonito!

I'm currently planning to be in Narrow Gauge Country in mid-August to begin preparations for the 40th Anniversary Celebration at the end of the month, but would be glad to come out a week or so early - or for a few days in mid-July - if someone local can organize a clean-up party.

- Russ Sperry

* This was originally intended to be a reply to one of JBWX's posts, but I decided to make it more visible ...



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2010 09:09AM by Russo Loco.