Re: RRollywood, er Hollywood...

Hi Greg! By the time your dad took the the RMRRC 1954 trip, a sequence of events had already taken place that pretty much assured the survival of the Silverton branch, which put us on course to where we are today. My response here to Rod Jensen elaborates a bit more on what transpired in the 1949-1954 period, which was a sequence of events that jolted Silverton Train ridership upwards so quickly that it became profitable, hence the Rio Grande would never be allowed to abandon it. No, it really doesn't matter now, other than those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it. As for the impact of movies, it's OK for you and I to respectfully disagree. the true rail fans in the late 1940s and early 1950s were, indeed, riding the RMRRC trips a few hundred at a time (how great would it have been to ride through the Black Canyon?). The Silverton Train ridership increase from 3,000 in 1949 to a profitable 15,000 in 1954 likely was many more people with a casual or non-interest in trains than rail fans. Tourists. Even Bob Richardson gave those very early movies credit for making a difference, and he was the one who was there, chronicling everything that went on in those days. Compared to the number of people who saw any given movie in one evening, or didn't see the the film, but just read the publicity that studios spewed out, 15,000 people is a small drop in the bucket.