September 20, 2005 10:56AM
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Looking at the many followup comments to Roger's post, I think many people missed the important point:
> The only thing mentioned is other railroads have been contacted and they are not having the same problem.
So -- presuming this is correct (and I remember hearing that the D&S was having a pretty decent season), I think you can (almost) ignore the fuel costs, the panic, and other environmental concerns and focus on typical business issuses.
Two things come to mind:
- people are being careful about getting the most for their travel dollars and Durango is a lot better all around vacation
- the C&TS leadership did a poor job marketing and managing a comparable railroad experience
There are of course, other possible reasons, but those two slap you in the face as the primary choices.
So, in years past, when the C&TS attracted reasonable traffic, was it because there were lots and lots of people visiting the region with extra cash, or was it because the railroad was more visible to the travel industry?
Also, has the travel industry been turned off by railroad trips in general? I don't think so -- even CNN had a recent postitive AP article about riding the rails for fun
Scenic railroad packs thrills for steam fans. My gut tells me either other railroads are improving their marketing and management teams (and efforts) or the C&TS has lost traction here. Special trips (the Cinder Bear train?) are great, but most people are not going to travel to Chama for that specific trip -- if you are there, it's a great thing -- but it won't get a vacationer there.
Bottom line, I think the C&TS has to cooperate with the two villages to promote a 'bigger better package' that has enough quality activities to justify going to the region for the packaged trip. They probably don't have to be four-star quality, but do have to sound fun, look fun in a print or online ad, and have to actually play out the way they're described. It's perfectly ok if they only have horses, fishing, scenery, food, and history; you don't necessarily need fancy food, art galleries or 4-star suites.
If the C&TS only plays the "great ride" angle, they might as well ship the rolling stock and other assets to Golden and store them with the Loop equipment to be retained for some future quality endeavor. It seems petty and childish of both groups to cast blame over the poor season at hand -- the villages depend on the railroad for the primary driver, but the C&TS must realise it hasn't the drawing power to really make a go of things on its own.
Respectfully,
Tom Stewart
P.S. one more thing -- package deals are what make people travel -- you don't go to Alaska just for the glaciers, you don't go to Paris just for the Eiffel tower, and you don't come to San Antonio just for the Alamo -- the entire region is committed to working together to attract, entertain, and retain visitors year after year with a blend of the natural (and sometimes constructed) attractions that are there.
Subject |
Author |
Posted |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 06:14PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 19, 2005 06:28PM |
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Rich Muth |
September 19, 2005 07:04PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 19, 2005 07:16PM |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 07:29PM |
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John Cole |
September 19, 2005 07:50PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 20, 2005 08:20AM |
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Kevin K. |
September 20, 2005 10:23AM |
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Jerry Day |
September 20, 2005 10:41AM |
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Steve Singer |
September 20, 2005 11:44AM |
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Herb Kelsey |
September 20, 2005 05:04PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 08:18AM |
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Don Richter |
September 21, 2005 08:29AM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 08:49AM |
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Don Richter |
September 21, 2005 11:04AM |
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John Fisher |
September 21, 2005 12:30PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 12:44PM |
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"RAWHIDE" |
September 21, 2005 01:33PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 01:44PM |
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John Kyler |
September 21, 2005 01:45PM |
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Greg Scholl |
September 21, 2005 03:43PM |
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Craig Kumler |
September 21, 2005 05:53PM |
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Greg Scholl |
September 21, 2005 06:59PM |
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Russ Sperry |
September 23, 2005 08:09PM |
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John Kyler |
September 21, 2005 01:26PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 01:36PM |
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John Kyler |
September 21, 2005 01:50PM |
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Steve Stockham |
September 21, 2005 02:30PM |
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rick b |
September 22, 2005 12:18PM |
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Greg Scholl |
September 21, 2005 03:49PM |
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Jerry Day |
September 21, 2005 04:48PM |
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Bryan Laue |
September 21, 2005 11:09PM |
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Dick Seelye |
September 19, 2005 07:52PM |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 08:40PM |
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John Frank |
September 19, 2005 07:56PM |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 08:24PM |
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RichB |
September 19, 2005 08:34PM |
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John Frank |
September 19, 2005 08:42PM |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 09:01PM |
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Chile John |
September 19, 2005 09:42PM |
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roger hogan |
September 19, 2005 09:47PM |
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frank martindell |
September 20, 2005 11:06AM |
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Bill Kepner |
September 20, 2005 07:55AM |
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Craig LeVay |
September 20, 2005 08:27AM |
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Craig Kumler |
September 20, 2005 11:19AM |
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frank martindell |
September 20, 2005 11:08AM |
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John Cole |
September 20, 2005 12:45PM |
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Linn W. Moedinger |
September 20, 2005 06:21AM |
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Tom Stewart |
September 20, 2005 10:56AM |
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Don Richter |
September 20, 2005 11:15AM |
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John West |
September 20, 2005 11:25AM |
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Chile John |
September 20, 2005 11:40AM |
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roger hogan |
September 20, 2005 12:06PM |
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Rod Jensen |
September 20, 2005 12:30PM |
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John West |
September 20, 2005 12:56PM |
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Yosemite Sam |
September 20, 2005 01:35PM |
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Don Richter |
September 20, 2005 02:25PM |
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RichB |
September 20, 2005 03:33PM |
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John Cole |
September 20, 2005 04:15PM |
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Chama-Antonito business hours |
September 21, 2005 02:11PM |
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Mark Valerius |
September 21, 2005 02:23PM |
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Paul Gibbs |
September 20, 2005 04:24PM |
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Cal Smith |
September 20, 2005 09:21PM |
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RG |
September 21, 2005 02:06PM |
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Greg Scholl |
September 21, 2005 03:53PM |
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Jerry |
September 21, 2005 07:36PM |
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J.B.Bane |
September 22, 2005 09:20AM |
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Russ Sperry |
September 23, 2005 06:57PM |
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dan |
September 23, 2005 09:00PM |
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Jerry |
September 23, 2005 09:59PM |
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RBrinton |
September 24, 2005 08:11AM |
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J.B.Bane |
September 24, 2005 09:25AM |
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dan |
September 24, 2005 10:50AM |
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roger hogan |
September 20, 2005 04:03PM |
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Steve Stockham |
September 20, 2005 05:42PM |
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roger hogan |
September 20, 2005 08:42PM |
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Herb Kelsey |
September 21, 2005 01:47PM |
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John West |
September 22, 2005 12:42AM |
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dan |
September 22, 2005 02:56PM |
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John West |
September 22, 2005 03:25PM |
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dan |
September 22, 2005 05:31PM |
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Russ Sperry |
September 23, 2005 07:16PM |
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John West |
September 23, 2005 09:14PM |
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Chile John |
September 24, 2005 08:05AM |
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Mik |
September 22, 2005 03:26PM |
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Steve Singer |
September 22, 2005 04:05PM |
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John Cole |
September 22, 2005 05:05PM |
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John West |
September 22, 2005 05:10PM |
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Hobosteve |
September 23, 2005 04:26AM |
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Charles |
September 23, 2005 10:35AM |
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Jerry Day |
September 23, 2005 12:15PM |
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Russ Sperry |
September 23, 2005 07:34PM |
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Herb Kelsey |
September 26, 2005 11:16PM |
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Herb Kelsey |
September 26, 2005 11:21PM |
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Philip Walters |
September 27, 2005 08:03AM |
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John Cole |
September 27, 2005 01:39PM |
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Fritz Klinke |
September 27, 2005 06:13PM |
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Philip Walters |
September 28, 2005 08:33AM |
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Russ Sperry |
September 27, 2005 11:40PM |
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Philip Walters |
September 29, 2005 06:52PM |
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Bob Jennings |
September 23, 2005 05:24AM |
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Herb Kelsey |
September 26, 2005 11:35PM |
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Rod Jensen |
September 26, 2005 11:56PM |
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Curt Bianchi |
September 27, 2005 08:29AM |
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Rod Jensen |
September 27, 2005 11:01AM |
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Curt Bianchi |
September 27, 2005 11:53AM |
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