Don,
I hear ya and appreciate where you're coming from, but am completely stunned that the misinformation continues to flow from CHS. Namecalling of "dingbat" is mild to what they deserve for the actions they're taking and the risks they're imposing.
By CHS demanding a new operator to front all the upfront costs, then receive 30% of the profits is mildly stupid. But if that new operator is part of the local societies that intend to suck another 40% out of the Loop just for living in that vicinity (CONFLICT OF INTEREST for the CHS person that works both CHS AND the local interests), now the operator has 70% of the profits.
Kick in the afterburners of outrageous stupidity when they insist on using original 100 plus year old C&S equipment that hasn't had much attention in more than 50 years. It goes completely beyond rational reality when CHS is giving the hypothetical new operator from January to May of 2005 to have a fully functional steam railroad ready to service over 115,000 people. "Dingbats" "Cockroaches" ... they deserve much harsher.
In the Colorado Timetable there is one more example of how CHS's proposal is logistically impossible and hypocritical to their core mission of preserving history. CHS proposes use of original C&S passenger coaches (that are currently not operationally worthy). As stated, the currently operating converted freight to passenger cars weigh in at 11 tons and carry 40 people each. C&S coach 76 weighs in around 20 tons and carries 44 people. Couple this to the ludicrous idea of consuming an underpowered # 9 in daily service and they no longer have a railroad with the capacity to handle the demand of the paying public. They won't have the physical ability to haul anything close to 1/2 of the current demand. And, the demand is there - having seen days where people were kindly told that the entire day is sold out and could they come back the next day.
So, the 30% that the next operator is expecting in profits is much less than 15% of what the current operation is experiencing. No wonder there is an impasse. This kind of money would not allow for required maintenance, and deferred maintenance is an accident waiting to happen - DINGBATS! Meanwhile, they consume historical artifacts.
Yeah, sure ... they don't deserve namecalling.
