Some years ago there were some posts here (or at a predecessor board) by John Coker and Bob Keller in which which there was some colorful discussion of the early days of the C&TS under Scenic Railways. Some of it was point, counterpoint disagreement, but it was fascinating. That led to some email correspondence with Bob, and he wrote some essays that might have become part of a history of those early years. Of course with Bob it was never clear how much was history and how much was good story telling.
But this stirred my interest in the history of the early years of the C&TS, including the work done by "volunteers" and whoever else was involved then in saving what is now the C&TS. Back in 1970 I was out of school and starting a career, so by and large I missed any first hand knowledge of the goings on.
Despite a high level of interest on my part, I have never seen a comprehensive narrative of those efforts. Indeed when the subject comes up there seems to be almost an unwillingness on the part of some to share their memories. It is strange because most things narrow gauge are documented ad nauseum. But when it comes to the early years of the C&TS there seems to be kind of a thundering silence.
Apparently there were some conflicts, and apparently those axes are not yet fully buried. I hear bits and pieces, but since I am in no position to sort fact from fiction, the less I say the better.
Perhaps there is already a written history out there somewhere, but if so I have not found it. And I don't mean just the legal documents, but a narrative that talks about the people and perhaps can deal with the conflicts objectively. If there is, please point me to it. If it hasn't yet been written the time has come to document that very significant and seemingly very interesting period in the history of the railroad. The pricipal players are not getting any younger and some like Bob Keller are no longer with us.
JBWX
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2010 05:27PM by John West.
