Re: Hypothetical Restoration of Old La Veta Pass railbed to railroad.

I_love_D&RG Wrote:
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> Would it be worth it for some heritage railway
> people to restore some of the tracks of the Old La
> Veta Pass Railbed to create a heritage railway of
> what the D&RG used to be like before 1899?

No. There is no "maybe," either. There exactly exactly zero chance of such a project ever having a positive return. Quite the opposite, it would always be something of a cash sink, requiring some degree of subsidization to continue. If you want to re-create 19th century equipment in a period-appropriate setting the only way that's going to happen through the means of somebody who doesn't mind burning cubic dollars for no return beyond fun and sense of history. Most of the other problems discussed (the legal/regulatory issues) can be solved by building an insular private railroad entirely on private land which exists outside normal railroad regulation, especially in states that have lesser regulation. You can get away with most of the 19th century technology in that case, where it might not be legal to operate on an FRA-controlled railroad. There is a big difference between someone's private project and something that's in the business of regularly hauling a paying public.