Re: Colorado and Southern #9 Fuel Question

I think Jason Has it right.It is CHS not Clear Creek County that decided this when the Loop first began operating as a tourist railroad.Remember the C&S for the most part was a coal fired railroad only #70 was an oil burner. Yes coal as a fuel to many is the "BOOGY"
man of fuels yet even in it's worst years for fires the D&S and the C&TS was operating steam only, Al Harper chose to shut down the railroad not because the railroad set the Missionary Ridge fire but because of the public perseption of the railroad setting fires.Remember almost every railroad during the days of steam in the rocky mountain west was coal fired. Visiting locomotives have been descussed and most of them are coal fired. Although it's mostly a what if. Coal fired engines could be used if everthing was in place to prepare for a fire and especially if the engines cinder equipment were in very good working
order and experienced fireman were on the left hand side. I have fired coal for many years and I love working with it but oil is a much easer
fuel to handle especially at the loop.

Regarding the comment about beetle kill , the Loop is already working on fire midigation even with our oil fired steam.