It seems like there are a lot of opinions here based, once again on little or no facts. Before we go condemning Railstar about the leased land in Belfast “solely” based on a newspaper report, should we not consider that we really don’t know what is really going on in Maine? I think one line in the article is rather telling if you can read between the lines a little;
"Trottier has sent checks to the city covering the late payments, St.Peter said, but the city has not cashed them and is considering its options."
It sure sounds like Belfast would Love to convert the water front property to high tax revenue condos. Of course, I don’t know this for a fact but I think it is very unwise to condemn Railstar based only on this little new article. Heck, even a local from Maine has just told us above that there is "more to it than meets the eye", but in our overwhelming desire to condemn the CHS, we just ignore that little bit of information.
As for the CRRM running the Loop, sure, sounds great. However, lets think about this a little. Where would they get the money to start up the operation? They need to buy equipment from somewhere just as Railstar and the CHS do.
I know some here have said that the CRRM already has equipment like the coach from Boulder that has already been running on the Loop. However, this sound like hypocrisy to me. Have we not already based the CHS for even thinking about running the restored C&S passenger equipment? Why would using historic D&RGW equipment from the CRRM be any better?
What would the CRRM use for power? The soon to be restored 346? What else do they have? Many here have already said that beating up the 74 & the 9 on the Loop would be “destroying the historic fabric of those locomotives". So then I would assume that the same would apply to the 346, or would it? I still don’t understand how railfans decide which engines are OK to burn up in everyday use and which ones must only be used (if at all) once a year during a special event. Why is it OK it run a 1903 Baldwin in everyday service but not a Brooks that was built only 5 year earlier?
So like I said, where would the CRRM get the money to buy equipment AND just what equipment could they buy? Some have suggested that they could use Aseby’s equipment. Well, it he refused to sell his equipment for any price to Railstar, what makes us think he would sell it to any of new Loop operator?
Since we have already decided that volunteers can NOT operate a tourist railway safely (my apologies to the Sumpter Valley and the Heber Valley and others) then the CRRM will need to hire crews. Need money for that. The GTL Inc. crews have already decided that they would never work for Railstar, whom already operate a tourist railway in Maine, so I doubt that they would work for the CRRM whom has no railway operating experience.
CRRM running the Loop? While it’s a nice idea, I really don’t see how it could ever work out any better then Railstar.
As for the CRRM taking control of the Loop, if this kind of thing was at all possible, I think I would have rather seen the GTL Inc. take control of the Loop themselves. In reality, they are far better suited to the job then the CRRM is. Since the Loop appears to generate fairly good revenue for it’s owner, as the CHS have just discovered, I think Mark G. would have found a way to take over control of the Loop if it where at all possible.
One last point, for the people who are waiting for the Ashby's to start up another railway so they can ride once again ride behind a properly run railroad, well they already did. It’s running in the Royal Gorge. Give it a try. If you are waiting for the Ashby’s to start another narrow gauge line in Colorado, you may have a very long wait. Since the shays are not up to FRA standards, this would really limit the locations they could run.
