Lots of differences Bill. There are two types(or maybe more), photo specials. Ones for the general public somewhat like the one you did, and secondly the type for the historically accurate for the hard-core photographers.
The trip you did had no special lettering, and was not really authentically operated. I can tell looking at the photo there was only C&TS lettering, and most premium charters would not doublehead a freight from Chama to Cumbres, since the common practice was to run a helper ahead of the caboose on the rear. The other big factor is that the hard-core want special locations, and 80-130 people just won't fit at many spots, so they limit the riders to 40-50 people. Even that can be tough....look at Cresco today with all the foliage over many years. So the cost of the train is the same, or maybe more when relettering costs and other factors are in there. I have done a couple of charters on the C&TS both as an assistant an an organizer. The trips for the masses are fine, but the hard-core prefer to spend the extra to get details correct, like lighting at a certain time of the day, engine consist and lettering correct, etc. On many of the general trips coaches are added to the train for the large number of riders. The higher priced ones, would never use non-historic cars for the riders, which can be another limiting factor.
There is a place for both types of charters. Surprisingly the cheaper ones can be a better deal depending on your goals. The cool thing about the Cumbres and Toltec, is that there are endless possibilities, that do not exist at most other places in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter.
Greg Scholl
[
www.gregschollvideo.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2019 07:03AM by Greg Scholl.
