Re: NG tie size & disappeance-Rio Grande

The appearance (60+ cars) of new ties in Alamosa by Ernie Robart is what sent ears on full alert as we knew that the D&RGW only had to go back in their expenses five years to flesh out their abandonment case. It is my understanding that prior to that they had deferred track maintenance for several years. At that point "we" (a bunch of us) started some "what if" discussions. This was the summer of 1967. In 1968, when the abandonment petition was filed, we started politicking in earnest (no pun intended Ernie). By the time the petition was filed there was a ground swell of support to save the line was well underway.
If Ernie hadn't given us a heads up on those ties, which gave us a year head start, we probably wouldn't have saved the railroad.
Perhaps we should fill one of the gondolas with ties and park it on the line next to the Garfield Mounument as a memorial.
CJ