Cumbres & Toltec riders up 20 percent over last year
BY LARRY WINGET
Railroad’s commissioners pleased with managers
CHAMA, N. Mex. — The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is having a good season. The passenger count is up 20 percent from last year and the current management team is doing a good job, according to members of the scenic railroad governing commission.
During a public meeting of the C&TSRR commission, Wayne Quinlan said the commission is “real happy with the management team, seeing the way it has turned out.”
Quinlan is one of two Colorado members of the railroad’s commission. He said for the first time the railroad is operating within a budget. Bills are being paid on time, there have been no complaints from suppliers and the line has added buses to return passengers to their point of embarkation, all within the current budget.
In an election of new officers of the commission, Quinlan was installed as the new C&T commission secretary. Carol Salisbury, the other Colorado commissioner, was elected chairperson of the commission. David Cargo, a New Mexico commission member was installed as the new treasurer.
New Mexico’s second commissioner, Carl Turner, said he would take “whatever is left” after new officers were elected.
Leo Schmitz, of Antonito, is the fifth member of the line’s commission and serves as its executive director.
The meeting was dominated by discussion of the railroad’s management situation and how to spend its $300,000-plus advertising budget.
Amos Cordova, a member of the Cumbres & Toltec Management Company said, “A detriment of this railroad is constant changes of management.” His management company’s contract is set to expire in late 2006.
One management scenario was mentioned at a recent Antonito Town Board of Trustees’ meeting. C&T Management personnel told that meeting of the possibility that New Mexico would lease the railroad from Colorado and take over day-to-day management.
That plan was not brought up at the Chama Commission meeting.
Alvin Garcia, a New Mexico assistant attorney general, said he could not comment on the possibility of New Mexico assuming a management position, because he is also counsel to the C&T commission. He said attorney-client privilege prevented him from commenting.
Commissioner Quinlan said he was unaware of any “specific” proposal for New Mexico assuming a management position. However, he did say his commission is “open to any management proposal” because the current management contract was written specifically to end this year and the railroad will then be looking for a new manager.
The majority of discussion in the rest of the commission meeting centered on advertising and marketing.
Turner brought up that advertising is scheduled to be curtailed in August. He said advertising was cut back last year during the same time period and, in his opinion, had resulted in an immediate drop in passenger numbers.
Turner made a motion that money be made available to continue mid-season advertising. Thirty thousand dollars from the railroad’s operating budget and $10,000 from the New Mexico Department of Tourism were moved into the C&T’s ad budget.
The commission voted to provide the money and for it to be split equally between augmenting mid-season advertising and marketing strategies aimed at getting a jump on promoting next year’s season.
“Southern Colorado already knows about the train. Denver is very unaware of the train. What I’m saying is we don’t need to hit southern Colorado,” said Bill Laurell, an Antonito town trustee. “What we want to hit is Denver.”
Elmer Salazar and Amos Cordova, of the railroad’s management company, and Stephen Flowers, the food concessionaire for the Cumbres & Toltec, all suggested partnering with the Durango and Silverton railroad to promote both trains. The Durango and Silverton operation does a lot of preseason and long-term promotion by attending trade and tourist shows around the country. Most of the marketing half of the extended ad budget approved for the C&T by its commission would go to including the C&T in those trade shows.
A partnership with the Durango railroad might also be able to take advantage of that railroad’s ability to attract more than three times the number of passengers annually than the C&TSRR with an advertising budget smaller than the C&T’s.
Members of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec volunteer organization told the meeting the railroad should use the Friends to promote the line. It was said the Friends has “an army of volunteers, we’re all across the country.”
Three different construction projects were detailed for the commission meeting.
Frank Turner, president of the C&T Management Company said the railroad was able to obtain several thousand used track ties from the Union Pacific Railroad in Oregon. Turner also reported good rock track ballast had been found near Antonito. He said 10,257 ties had been installed in this year’s capital improvements and the only thing left to do was to install the ballast as surfacing for the new ties.
Turner said the job might be completed for $2 million. The original estimate was for a cost of $20 million. “I’m proud of our track people,” Turner said. “These guys really do a great job and they do it safely.”
According to Turner, locomotive #489 is in the shop for refurbishing. Forty-seven thousand dollars, mostly for labor, have gone into the restoration of #489. Crews are disassembling the new locomotive as part of a $900,000 project to put it into service in 2007.
If analysis shows the engine is worth fixing, the C&T would put it to use as soon as possible. Ridership is up this year and the railroad’s management hopes to have enough additional equipment to carry the increased passenger load.
Leo Schmitz, executive director of the C&T commission said work was also progressing on rebuilding the car repair shop in Antonito.
A Colorado Department of Transportation grant is going toward that project.
Schmitz said Red Mountain Engineers, of Santa Fe, N. Mex. is working to complete designs for the Antonito shop. Such plans exist now, but they are out of date. Red Mountain is producing new specifications and once designs are finished, construction will begin, Schmitz said.
