From reading Russ’ posts, it sounds like the railroad has been flexible regarding lettering in the past, but that promoting the Cumbres & Toltec brand through lettering the locomotives has been the norm for 2011 and 2012. What is the Friends position regarding lettering of the historic equipment? Clearly the passenger cars are not historic and should be lettered Cumbres & Toltec, yet the locomotives are both historic artifacts and part of the tourist side of the business.
I find the decision to letter the cab C&T instead of D&RGW especially puzzling. I doubt if a single tourist would be confused if the tender said Cumbres & Toltec but the front corner of the cab carried the small D&RGW lettering, yet this is a big deal for charters. There didn’t appear to be any magnets to change this for the recent charters and painting it out and relettering would leave a very obvious patch of fresh black paint that will show in the photos, particularly in glint light.
As far as lettering the tenders, my suggestion is to have two engines lettered Rio Grande, to show the historic aspects of the railroad, both to tourists and for charters. If this is not practical, the suggestion that the tenders be painted black and lettered Cumbres & Toltec with vinyl lettering would seem to offer the best method for turning back the clock for a charter. This would avoid a mismatch in color that occurs when fresh black paint is applied to a weathered black tender. The charter operator would have to pay for two sets of vinyl lettering, one Rio Grande and one to return the tender to Cumbres & Toltec and either pay for the labor or do it themselves for a discount.
Who makes the decisions regarding how the locomotives are painted and what accommodations can be made for charters? To whom should suggestions be made regarding reasonable accommodations for charter lettering?
Michael Allen
