Albuquerque Journal Sunday, October 03, 2010
By Jessica Dyer
Journal Staff Writer
Business Is Down in Chama Since Cumbres & Toltec Bridge Burned
CHAMA—Patsy Gallegos' ice cream shop on Terrace Avenue was empty Thursday afternoon, save for its proprietor seated alone behind the cash register.
Such quiet isn't unusual these days. Gallegos said customers have been rare — at times, almost nonexistent — since Chama was cut off from the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad train route in June due to a bridge fire a few miles outside of town.
Since then, Gallegos said, business has been "lousy — really, really bad."
Jointly owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado, the train runs annually between Chama and Antonito, Colo., from late May to mid-October. The fire at Lobato Trestle has forced the train to travel a truncated route short of Chama, between Cumbres Pass and Antonito.
Passengers still start their trip in Chama, but they don't board the train until after a motor coach trip from Chama to Cumbres Pass, cutting off the first 13 miles of the train trip. The bus isn't steam-powered, but locals say its course along N.M. 17 offers views comparable to the train.
Ridership has suffered this season. Train spokesman Nick Quintana said the route's famous fall colors have meant strong boardings in the past few weeks, but overall ridership for the season is projected to be down 28 percent.
That decline has been felt in Chama, where train traffic is the lifeblood of many businesses. The economy is so tied to train-related tourism that many businesses open only for the Cumbers & Toltec season and close during the winter.
Gallegos said she's been hit hard. She's earning only enough money at the ice cream shop to cover overhead, she said, and wouldn't have been able to make it this year financially had it not been for her husband's separate income.
Her total sales last Monday failed to crack $30.
"In 16 years since I've been here, I've never had that kind of day," Gallegos said.
Margaret Palmer, owner of the Chama Valley Times, has been trying to gauge the train's true impact on Chama. Using a 2004 economic fiscal impact study by the Southwest Planning and Marketing Co. and information provided by the railroad commission and former train managers, Palmer estimates the train has provided approximately $500 million in direct income to Chama and Antonito during its 40-year run.
When adding in indirect income — like property taxes paid by railroad employees — the number is closer to $1 billion, she said.
"Right now, this train represents about a third of our economy," Palmer said.
When the train is hurting, so are people like Leslie Cavell Trimble.
A potter and the owner of The Blue Heron Gallery in Chama, Trimble said her customer base shriveled up this year with the loss of ridership. Her recent decision to enter the wholesale and online markets have helped her make ends meet, but she's still worried about getting by.
"This is still going to be a scary, scary winter. I'm hoping I'm not waiting tables this winter — if there are any restaurants open to work at," she said. "Everyone I talk to is scared this year. I'm also afraid that if the train doesn't get the funding it needs (to fix the trestle), there is no survival."
Quintana, the train spokesman, said Cumbres & Toltec officials have approximately $1 million to put toward repairing the Lobato Trestle. But that's only half of the project's estimated costs. Conversations with state officials in New Mexico and Colorado have yielded some commitments to help, but Quintana said no specific amounts have been offered.
Even without all the money in hand, some work on Lobato will begin shortly, and Quintana said the goal is to have the bridge open when the 2011 season opens May 28.
"The trestle is only fixable with big help, and right now the only big help is the government," said Trimble, who fired off an e-mail to Gov. Bill Richardson this week.
Horses versus train
Trimble and others in the Chama community expressed skepticism about Richardson's plans to spend $2.8 million in stimulus money for land near Madrid to expand Cerrillos Hills State Park to establish a wild horse sanctuary.
Trimble said that's the kind of cause the public might support with its own money, and the stimulus funds should be used elsewhere.
"Bill's got 2 million bucks in stimulus that he wants to put toward a wild horse sanctuary. I know a lot of people will donate for something like that, but no one will donate to give people jobs or help them survive," she said. "I don't think stimulus money is for (animals)."
Chama Mayor Archie Vigil said he spoke to Richardson personally and requested help when he saw him at a recent meeting. He said the governor has been supportive in the past when the village needed help, and he wants to see Richardson come through again.
"I have nothing against mustangs — I think they're great. But I hope he can see that an economy to a town is just as important or more, because we're looking at human beings," Vigil said. "I hope he can find it somewhere in his budget to help us out."
Richardson's office did not respond Friday to Journal inquiries about any potential plans to provide funding to Chama.
Vigil said he's heard of a few local businesses closing, something he blamed on both the national recession and train woes.
But not everyone is in such dire straits.
Che Johnston, owner of the High Country Restaurant and Saloon, said he has worked to attract a more local customer base, so the burned bridge hasn't affected him too much.
But he's still concerned by what he's seen this summer — especially the abundance of available parking on the streets near the Chama Depot.
"What scares me is going downtown. When you go downtown, I've never seen it like that before," Johnston said. "I've never seen the streets of Chama so empty. We're not a hustling, bustling little train town."
No smoke, whistles
The absence of the Cumbres & Toltec's steam locomotives in town creates its own problems, he said. The town becomes less memorable for the average road-tripper who passes through.
"But if you see this old steam engine belching this smoke out of the top and blowing the whistle and (going) 'ding-ding-ding-ding,' that's going to be the only time you see that in your whole trip, and it's going to set in your mind forever," Johnston said. "I think you'll tell people about it when you get to (your destination). You may drive through on your way back and maybe buy a ticket.
"What I'm most upset about is losing the unique charm that our town had when there was a turn-of-the-century railroad firing up and down the streets."
Barbara Hogan, who owns The Hotel & Shops across the street from the Chama Depot, said there has definitely been a void in town since June.
"I've heard it referred to as 'creepy,' " she said. "We don't hear what we usually hear, and it's discomforting when you're used to that sound."
As for business, Hogan said it's down but not by as much as she feared. During August, for instance, business was even with last year. But customers were harder to come by in July and early September.
"I think everyone is doing fair, probably," she said of the Chama community. "It hasn't been as busy as it normally is, which we would've expected. But it hasn't been a complete disaster."
Hogan said she has tried to face the circumstances with a positive attitude, because that's the image of Chama she wants this season's visitors to remember.
"If the people who represent Chama put effort into making these people feel welcome, they'll come back," she said.
