Re: Rotary Snowplow event

Kelly Anderson Wrote:
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> I don't think any of us armchair superintendents
> (or Chicken Littles, depending on your point of
> view) have brought up the possibility of it being
> a snowless winter. Repeat after me in your Mr.
> Bill voice, "Oh, nooooo!!!"

Hi Kelly,

I can't speak for any of the other 149 prospective participants, but my brain has already hashed through the many ways in which this event could go south. It's just the way I think. Perhaps it's the 5600+ hours I've spent flying. I'd rather be prepared with options than be surprised at the last minute.

I think that the possibility there will be no snow or insufficient snow is pretty slim, given the history of the area. From snow depth perspective, the worst situation would probably be no snow-cover south of Cresco. That would mean that the rotary would be doing much of its plowing out of sight from the road, which would really throw a monkey wrench into the ops plan for this charter. Hopefully, the folks at the railroad are working on that contingency. I'm pretty confident they know very well what they are doing. The leadership at the top is certainly the most appropriate leadership this railroad could have.

For my part, I have made multiple reservations with airlines, hotels and rental cars, which should give me the flexibility to handle the possibilities within the timeframes specified by the railroad. The railroad has indicated that if THEY cancel the event, the ticket price will be refundable. So, as long as they recognize a no-go situation at least a few days before the event is scheduled to begin, and get the word out, I can cancel my reservations and not lose much of anything.

Honestly, my biggest fears are:

1. A major snowstorm that prevents me from getting to the site on time.
2. A catastrophic mechanical failure early on in the event, which cannot be fixed within the allowed operating interval.

These are essentially the same contingencies that we face with any winter steam charter. For folks who regularly patronize these events, we just learn to deal with it. Lately, steam rotary runs are rarer than solar eclipses, so for some of us, it is worth the risk. When I went to White Pass in 2011, all of these issues were possibilities. We lucked out, and it was the greatest show on rails.

White Pass Rotary

/Kevin Madore