Douglas if economics are your only concern then you should buy diesels as soon as possible. It hasn't hurt the White Pass one bit. You could just keep a steamer around for show.
The true ecomonics of CATS are that it takes around 60k to 70k passengers a year for it to even break even regardless of which steam locomotives you have in service. The railroad has only reached this level a couple of times in its complete history. Neither the Commission nor RGRPC expect the railroad to make a profit in the forseable future. Their plan is to gradually restore the railroad structure, locomotives and rolling stock to acceptable levels before trying to strain it to reach those goals again. CATS is an expensive and difficult railroad to operate whether profitable or not as previous operators have found out. Finally all the mission statements for the Commission, RGRPC and Friends are more concerned with historic preservation rather than 'Profits'. Please see below. Thanks
The Commission's mission is to preserve and develop the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a historical nineteenth century railroad "museum on wheels," for the education, enlightenment and enjoyment of future generations.
to promote the public welfare by encouraging and facilitating recreation and by preserving, as a living museum for future generations, a mode of transportation that helped in the development and promotion of the territories and states."
Our mission is to preserve and interpret the railroad and to support the operation of the C&TS for the people of Colorado and New Mexico who own it, and the tens of thousands of visitors who come to be transported back in time through the beauty of the San Juan Mountains.