You probably don't want to have the public doing manual labor.
You could encounter ADA complaints for those who can't pick up said boxes and want to make an example of someone.
Also, what if someone hurts their back or gets beaned with a box while doing this? I hope your liability coverage is well paid up.
I've been into living history but almost all of my life (since the age of 6). Generally, people don't want hands-on.
And as for the C&TS being more than just a train ride, I'd love to see more but I doubt the public in general would care. For most people, it really
is just a train ride. Die hard train fans alone couldn't possibly keep the electric bill paid, much less provide good revenues for either end of the former D&RGW...
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout