Well my wife and I rode the whole line from Antonito to Chama. We had not done so together since maybe 1985!!! I was riding in the open gon for awhile, and got some of Rich Muth speaking for awhile and later moved to a platform so I could get more natural sounds. Later my wife asked where I was. She said she was enjoying the narratives on points of interest along the way.
I noticed the gon was pretty full most of the time, and that folks in the coaches were enjoying themselves as well. A lady in the ADA/Concession car was referring to her Friends Trip guide quite often as we dropped down from Cumbres, so here at the end of the trip she was still very much into the ride. Her husband(I think), even came out onto the coach platform for a couple of images down near Lobato Trestle. Thus everyone seemed happy and content with their great ride across the railroad. As some have said before, the scenery just gets better all the time going west, but us enthusiasts enjoy it all.
I know on most of my visits I was there in the spring for something like the Rotary, and we never did anything on the east end, just the climb to Cumbres(Which is always impressive), but I really enjoyed the east side as there was more to see that I was not so familiar with.
Remember its the Cumbres and TOLTEC Scenic Railroad and riding from Chama to Osier misses some of the best stuff. We did the bus option from Chama, and therefore were back in Chama around 4 where we were staying at a motel. I was pretty beat and ready for down time by then.
I guess I would just hate for someone to do the short rides and miss some of the best parts of the 64 mile ride.
On the flip side I mentioned the C&TS to my printer several years ago, and they decided to do a ride on their vacation one year. They rode Antonito-Osier-Antonito, so they missed everything west of Osier.
But in their defense, they got to go through the gorge twice in one day.
So there are options in place now that are just fine. If demand warrants more shorter trains I am sure they can be dealt with if they are financially feasible.
Greg
