REast 30 years hope for 30 more

I am very hopeful that the present Operator can fulfill there dreams and be successful with GROWING the railroad. At first I to was a little cocky with respect to what had to be done on a daily basis to maintain the equipment. After a few years of 24 7 I learned that at best you work very hard all the time to get ahead and you work twice as hard to try and be one step ahead of what was trying undo what you did to get ahead.
When you listen to the redirect you would think that the FRA and the C&TS never crossed paths until the railroad was in trouble. But as I remember it The FRA never left . We had to maintain equipment just as all other railroads under FRA jurisdictions and had to maintain time tables file inspection reports
,hours of service and had to do monthly ,quarterly semi and annual inspections on a lot more than a couple engines. Our trains left on time for the most part and came in on time. If your not a rail fan this is important and can be the difference between coming back and riding again. You can’t ignore maintenance and stay ahead of the Murphistic possibilities presented with STEEP MOUNTAIN RAILROADING and then keep timetables and stay out of the fish bowl.
If the Post quotation is from current railroad management I am afraid that again we have people that don’t understand what there dealing with. I sure hope that I am wrong. You can’t give the FRA a black eye and make statements that may make your future riders uneasy. And blast all your predecessors ,then not understand what your dealing with and simultaneously have a great day mountain railroading.
At the end of my rail roading experience I am at awe at what men did to concur the mountains and build American railroads, and despite what a few people say that have yet to move forward at all to date.
I am proud of all and to be part of the past 30 years of the C&TS that stayed out of the fish bowl.