olarmy Wrote:
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> Rod - your ideas are interesting and I am not
> trying to shoot them down. Just some things to
> consider. The busses run both ways. For the
> early train the buses would have to leave the
> opposite station at 6:30AM. The trains now days
> are pulled by K36's, a big slow freight engine as
> opposed to the San Juan's K28's which were faster
> 'passenger' engines. The San Juan was basically a
> little 4 car train not an 8 car or more freight
> train. Then you have the problem and expense of
> calling additional crews and more wear and tear on
> the engines and rolling stock with less time at
> each end for repairs and servicing and you have
> the uncertanties of operating NG in the mountains.
> A problem with the early train delays or cancels
> the later train. etc. Having ridden the train
> numerous times the passengers I observed like the
> ride and the lunch stop. I think improved track
> will give you a better more reliable ride,
> possibly save a little time, be less hard on the
> equipment and open up some possibilities for short
> turns on peak days. But two full trains a day
> would be a stretch. Finally, D&S is on the
> mainstream tourist routes. D&S has the equipment
> to field 4 or more separate trains. Cats is
> remote and hard to get too and there is not much
> else to attract people other than the train ride.
> One train each way can certainly handle the
> current crowds that show up. You would be hard
> pressed to fill up two trains each way so you
> would just end up loosing more money. Break even
> is around 50k riders a season. Ridership last
> season was in the 40k range. The most ever riders
> in a season was around 70k and they had 5 or 6
> locomotives then. Back in the Kyle days they
> forecasted 120k riders some day but it never
> materialized and in fact fell off. To make it
> Cats has to make the best utilization of it's
> equipment and crews possible, meaning pack them
> in. They can't afford to run half enpty trains.
> Probably the best way to improve profitability is
> to increase the size of the current trains with a
> few more passenger cars up to the limit of a
> single locomotive out of Antonito. Chama can be
> doubled headed and is already. It is an expensive
> RR to operate. Just some things to think about.
Why can't Antonito be double-Headed if needed? There are going to be four locomotives in the operating pull this year and maybe five next year. MAKE A SHORTER TRAIN TRIP! Which station gets more people? They can have a shorter train with 3 to 4 cars that just go to Cumbres or Sublette from Chama or Antonito. The view might not be all that great from Point A to point B but you get the shorter trip for tourist who only have 2 to 3 hours.
