In addition, Steve, I claim Senior Curmudgeonliness (failing memory) in my defense -
Earl MAY have confirmed the vital role of #19's Cumbres - Sublette round trips in saving the
C&TS' bacon during the rather tight summers of 1974 & 1975, but it was Clovis Butterworth
(aka Gothpapa) who provided the gory details way back in March of 2011 (emphasis mine)
: "The Cumbres Pass departures were well patronized, given the times, and reservations for the later season steam trains started rolling in. Experience prior to the 1974 season showed that patronage normally peaked during August and the fall color season, and that weekend trains were always the best patronized. That, of course, is why we developed the schedule as we did. And it worked out well. In the end there were few empty seats on the scheduled weekend trains, even during the late August/early September shoulder season.
"Not only that, we received very positive feedback from people who actually rode the Cumbres trains, many of whom were repeat riders from previous years. They liked the later start, the shorter trip, the chance to enjoy the best and most remote scenery twice, the lack of smoke and cinders in the eye, being almost as clean when they got back as they were when they started out, and not having to ride the busses. And we had few complaints of the “diesel vs. steam” variety from first time riders.
"As it turned out, that period from May 25 to August 1, 1974 was the only time we ever made a solid profit on the passenger operation. And we did that with far fewer passengers than during the same time period the previous year. Well, go figure. Payroll and operating costs were minimal. Diesel fuel was easily obtained and still inexpensive. The #19 was in good condition and required little maintenance. It was an easy day: crank up the diesel in the morning, run the trip, shut down the diesel when you get back, clean the train, and go home. The minimal grades and smaller trains were no great challenge for locomotive or rolling stock ... "
For the fascinating 'Rest of the Story', see [
ngdiscussion.net] and all of the links at the bottom of that page.
- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender