Re: "our turf"

I beg to disagree, Mr. Bates.
Agreed, the citizens of Colorado and New Mexico can claim ownership of the C&TS, since their two states own it. But does that give anyone who is a citizen of either state to go anywhere on the property at any time? No. There are plenty of publicly owned properties (let's not restrict this just to states) which have restrictions on access. Try and go anywhere you like without supervision at either state prison, and see how long you are welcome. This is a public property, owned, maintaned and operated by the citizens of the state. And decidedly not open for easy access.
In the private sector, or the state sector, try walking onto a construction site uninvited, and see how welcome you are. A private contractor is building a new building on the state university campus where I work. The site is fenced, and people who don't work there are not allowed on the job site, for liability reasons among others.
The C&TS is being managed by an appointed body, accountable to the resepctive state legislatures. The railroad commission has entered into a contract with an operator, who has a right to select which groups will engage in working on the property, and on what terms. I think the point about "our turf" is very much as made below, that it is "our job site" and the idea is safety first.
I fail to see that you could guarantee that a different manager would be any more willing to have the public walking into a work site. so why pick on the Friends? Do the D&SNG, or the UP steam program allow open public acces to their shops? Knotts Berry Farm? Perhaps there is a reason - I'd guess liability insurance for starters. So the conclusion I draw is that the managers don't want people working to be interrupted by casual visitors.
I don't have a problem with this. I've sent money to support the C&TS, and the Colorado RR Museum, and several other railroad restoration projects. While I would love to be able to get up close and personal, I also respect the fact that my presence may delay work being done by the crew, and may be a distraction that they feel poses a safety threat. I don't think my cash contribution equates to a free pass to get into the middle of the work area whenever I want.
The C&TS people have a lot of work to do to get ready for the start of the season. I don't think I'm competant to second guess Kim Flowers or the shop foreman, or anyone else managing the railroad. If they feel that unscheduled visitors to the shop are a problem, then we should respect their decision (they are paid to run the railroad, we aren't) that should be the end of it. The proof of the wisdom of their decison will be, for me, did they get three locomotives into service for the 2004 season? How much work to track and cars? How many passengers ride this year? I think, at this point, those are more important than anything else.
Thanks for reading.
Charlie Mutschler
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