Railstar picking up steam
By Meghan Murphy
06/29/2005
IDAHO SPRINGS — By the end of the year, Railstar Corp. expects the Georgetown Loop Railroad to be running at 80 to 90 percent of the attraction’s 2004 capacity.
Until the No. 9 engine comes on line in a few weeks, however, the operation has the potential for about 55 percent of the passengers of last year. Because Railstar has fewer cars, their potential for riders is only a little more than half of what it was last year.
Currently, Railstar runs six passenger cars per train on five trips a day leaving Silver Plume station. When the No. 9 comes online, it will carry an additional four cars.
Last year, Georgetown Loop Railroad Inc. ran the same schedule, but with nine cars during the week 13 to 14 cars, on two engines, on the weekend.
Without actual ticket sales numbers, which Railstar said were unavailable at last week’s Loop Park Coordination Committee meeting, a comparison of actual ridership was unavailable.
But Railstar is proud of their accomplishments and optimistic of their future. On Tuesday the operation added a train to the schedule to meet demand.
“We’ve done a good job of getting ready in a short period of time,” said Pete Gores, the general manager of the Loop. Gores also noted that, of course, he wished the operation had more rolling stock, especially as a back up when equipment breaks down, but they are actively working on more acquisitions.
“It’s a tough battle for a lot of reasons,” he said.
One of the reasons, Gores noted, was the “old versus new operator” mentality among the community.
“I hate to say they and them,” he said. “It’s a we, it’s the railroad. We are all in this together.”
Gores, and other representatives from Railstar and the Colorado Historical Society, met with the Loop Park committee last Wednesday for the first time since the train opened.
Jim Poston, of the Colorado Historic Railroad Preservation Association, asked a slew of questions of the parties, which he had sent days in advance through e-mail.
On top of the list were questions about ticket sales so far this season. But Railstar and CHS representatives said they were not prepared to divulge the information at the time.
Kathy Denzer, the Railstar marketing director, explained that they were still working out kinks in their new computer system and on getting the reports right. Railstar’s contract requires that the company submit monthly ticket sales reports to the CHS, the first of which is due on July 10.
Rod Wolthoff, an attorney for the CHS, said that if an open records request for the information was submitted at this point, the request would be answered with a bill for running the report. A special report wouldn’t be generated otherwise.
Poston also asked the CHS for reservations numbers in an attempt to project ridership for the remainder of the season.
Wolthoff said how many reservations the train has today, could very well change tomorrow, so the numbers wouldn’t be relevant. He added that he had no data from last year to compare with.
Mark Graybill, a committee member and owner of End of the Line, said he felt it was a fair question so that business owners in Georgetown could gauge what the season would be like. “I have to buy a lot of merchandise in the next few weeks,” he said.
The reservation question remained unanswered, but Gores gave an estimate of the train’s capacity for the rest of the year, noting that the No. 9 would be ready in two or three weeks. With both trains running on the tracks, the Loop would have about 80 percent of the ability to carry riders compared with last year.
Gores also talked about equipment that would be online for the 2006 season. Passenger cars contracted for this season, which fell through because another order was placed before the Loop’s, would be available next year, he said. The society is also refurbishing the Boulder passenger car that was recently vandalized and burned.
To end public comment, Graybill noted that he’d like to see more attention paid to directing train passengers into the towns. He said his employee rode the train and reported that coupons prepared by the towns for distribution with train tickets were not given to the employee. Nor, he said, did the conductor give much "talking up" to the towns for passengers to head there after the ride.
Gores and Denzer assured Graybill that such efforts were happening, but admitted that employees are still learning their roles and scripts for the train. They said the employees would be instructed that these items are to be done 100 percent of the time. “We promised that and we will do it,” Gores said, noting that any more feedback was welcome.
The committee agreed the focus now should be on the future and the 2006 season. At the next meeting, the group members will bring back the top five priorities from town and county officials for discussion and to develop a work plan.
Some of the suggested items of interest were parking issues, potential for new ticket sales locations and using the rest of the Loop Park’s estimated 1,000 acres of open space for visitor enjoyment.
The next meeting of the Loop Park Coordination Committee is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 20 at Silver Plume’s Large Town Hall.
