Re: Fan trips?
| December 10, 2023 12:25PM |
John C Wrote:
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> I don’t believe current management is
> “against” a charter, but it would need to pay
> for itself and not disrupt the traffic that’s
> already utilizing everything we have in the coach
> yard. The shoulder seasons in April or September
> would be the best shot of someone wanted to try
> putting one together, but September is usually
> pretty socked in with rain and fog. There are many
> days when anything above Glacier is in the clouds,
> which would make for a pretty disappointing photo
> special.
The beauty of the April, 2011 Rotary Trip was that it happened a week or two before the cruise season began. There was no one in Skagway but the natives and no busy schedule of passenger trains to compete with. We had the line to ourselves, mainly because we were opening the line. If there was to be a fan trip, that would probably be the time to do it....right after they clear the line. Trying to do it during the tourist season is just asking for problems.
In 2011, we had a couple of cloudy days, but we also did have a pair of very nice days and the photography was nothing short of awesome. Here's an image from the last day, depicting the clearing of a large drift which accumulated in front of the depot at Bennett, which John mentioned. I don't believe I have ever seen another photo of a rotary plow being used to clear a station platform.
/Kevin Madore
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> I don’t believe current management is
> “against” a charter, but it would need to pay
> for itself and not disrupt the traffic that’s
> already utilizing everything we have in the coach
> yard. The shoulder seasons in April or September
> would be the best shot of someone wanted to try
> putting one together, but September is usually
> pretty socked in with rain and fog. There are many
> days when anything above Glacier is in the clouds,
> which would make for a pretty disappointing photo
> special.
The beauty of the April, 2011 Rotary Trip was that it happened a week or two before the cruise season began. There was no one in Skagway but the natives and no busy schedule of passenger trains to compete with. We had the line to ourselves, mainly because we were opening the line. If there was to be a fan trip, that would probably be the time to do it....right after they clear the line. Trying to do it during the tourist season is just asking for problems.
In 2011, we had a couple of cloudy days, but we also did have a pair of very nice days and the photography was nothing short of awesome. Here's an image from the last day, depicting the clearing of a large drift which accumulated in front of the depot at Bennett, which John mentioned. I don't believe I have ever seen another photo of a rotary plow being used to clear a station platform.
/Kevin Madore
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.