Fritz Klinke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The motivating need to get rid of the North yard
> was money. The City of Durango leased much of that
> land and it was the Harpers need to cash it out.
> As I recall, they got around a million dollars
> through several transactions. And they had no real
> interest in keeping the equipment. It was a
> passenger operation and aside from the cars needed
> for wrecker service and occasional work trains,
> they had a hard time maintaining both cabooses.
> They were carrying a huge debt load and one way to
> stay afloat was to sell assets that were not
> essential.
This makes a lot of sense. I would add that railroads in the US have to pay taxes on land and equipment whether it's use or not. This acts as a financial incentive to sell unused or little used equipment, track and the land it sits on rather than wait to see if traffic patterns and needs might change in the future.
Greg Coit
Bayfield, CO