Kevin and all,
For the all the reasons you mentioned about your frustrations is why I didn't bother to consider doing these trips or the ones in 2012, not to mention the amount of dollars it costs to get there and tickets was criminal. One has to ask yourself "What is railfanning"? Is it doing all these charters!!?? Is that more important than just photographing the regular passenger train that serves its normal purpose each day!! When prices get crazy, one has to try to justify it all I think, especially when one(me) has been there and done that in the past.
Getting back to the issues we all have brought up, in 1993 I had a plan to make the hours of service longer. We never got to implement the plan since they had track out of service 8 miles out of Chama. From the best I can recall this is what I had planned.
First, the flyers were for two days. Day 1-2 Cumbres turns using rear pusher. Morning and afternoon runs. Cost was $350.00
Sunday we had a one-way trip to Antonito to cover the whole line. No return planned, you were on your own. This was to be a helper to Cumbres as I remember. Cost $200.00. Combo deal both days $500.00. I may be slightly off on prices.
Anyway, on day two I had planned a surprise for everyone. The train was
to head to Osier, and the helper would be behind from Cumbres, but about an hour behind. At Big horn we would meet a passenger train from Antonito. The engine from Cumbres would be turned and we would make up a train with a mid-train helper to go west. Meantime the light engine from Cumbres would arrive. Here you had an option. The engine from Cumbres would get the passenger cars, and you could (a) Continue your ride to Antonito, or (b) Take the mid-train helper freight back to Chama, doing runbys in low sunlight as far as Cumbres. The plan was to have a second crew meet us at Los Pinos, to finish the run to Chama, which would be a half-day for that crew.
Earl and I had this all worked out, but it never happened since the drainage issue at State Line curve messed up the weekend royally after the Rotary ran.
The point of all this is we had planned for the best of both worlds on that Sunday trip, cause you would have gotten shots with freight through the best parts of the railroad in each direction in one day, and WB would have been multiple engine just like the old days.
One of the engines we had on Saturday was to go light to Antonito, or take freight over there Saturday night as I remember, to stage for the Sunday surprise. It would have been cool to have pulled it off. Hey, I tried, and sometimes thats all you can do!!! Nobody said running a charter was easy!!!
Greg