ozinoz Wrote:
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> What sort of money are we talking to have a second
> locomotive available for the Cumbres Turn?
I don't know - hopefully John Bush will chime in here and provide the current C&TS charter rate for a second engine and crew.
> What sort of money are we talking to re
paint tenders
> {NO magnets} to the Flying Rio Grande (and back?)
Probably not a whole lot if there are volunteers willing to help, but IMHO if we're going to celebrate the Diamond Anniversary by re-creating a 1940 Cumbres Turn - with two or three freshly-painted GRAMPS cars in the consist - at least one of the two engines should "still" be wearing the old-style lettering with herald, as currently seen on #315 and #463. (Were any K-27's still in helper service, Chama to Cumbres, in 1940??)
> The hardest part will be getting funds off the
> leechers and linesiders - it is "their right" as I
> have heard in the past, irrespective of how much
> others have paid to enable them to excercise
> "their right".
That's the point of a Plandampf - collect enough "donations" ahead of time, or the helper doesn't run. It's a public highway from Chama to Cumbres, so think of it as us hard-core fans helping the C&TS with public relations and advertising - kinda like the commercials we put up with when watching the news. OTOH, I have experienced the highway in Oak Creek Canyon (north of Sedona, AZ) blocked by the highway putt-roll to allow filming of a T-V commercial, so maybe we could arrange to have NM #17 shut down for an hour or so - unless you have a chaser's pass - while the train runs from The Narrows to the State Line ...
> If this is to be the success we all want it to
> be, then I think we have to try and go all out
> - numerous locos, weathered cars, painted
> tenders.
>
> I for one will be happy to donate time and $
> to make it so (and then pay through the nose
> to get there) I LOVE the NG - this would be my
> 8th trip, so the bigger the better while we can
...
I totally agree, Grant -
Especially as I am not getting any younger and missed seeing the tank cars in operation back in the early sixties. Unfortunately any extras raise the cost, and John Bush wants very much to keep the trip(s) affordable by the average railfan. It will be up to those of us who can to chip in a little extra for the helper, etc., so the tickets for the Cumbres to Antonito leg - and the westbound freight the following day - can be kept at a reasonable price.
OTOH, we're not even sure at this point how many tank cars will be available 13+ months from now, so the first order of business is to support the effort by John Cole and others to obtain bearings and wedges for them.
-
Rússo
