Re: What Can Be Done Differently

Karell said:
There is still somewhat of a blur between what CHS originally intended to operate and what has actually manifested - the Railstar Loop is akin to a hybrid between a business and a state taxpayer (or gambling revenue) supported concession.
While my railfan side has been blown away by the work Jason, Steven, Shane and the rest of Railstar are doing at the Loop, Karell's comments resonated with my non-railfan side.
I wasn't there, but based upon conversations with lots and lots of local observers who were, my impression is that the GLRR, Inc. used to make the Loop look like it was an easily-milked cash-cow. Seeing this, the CHS presumably figured that the revenues from the Loop could be used to subsidize their other projects and the other historical sites they operate. They probably also figured they were in an excellent position to dictate terms to the GLRR, Inc. -- another NGDF poster once described the GLRR as being in a "sharecropper" arrangement.
I suspect that what was a cash-cow back in 2003/2004 has become a financial albatross in 2006. I don't think it is any secret that CHS's expenses at the loop have to be way, way up -- first they invested a lot of money into acquiring and restoring a fleet of passenger cars. Then they invested even more money into a pair of locomotives, spent money remodeling the Silver Plume and Devil Gate's stations, purchased new signs, had the PR tour for #9, had to order a new axle for #12, etc.
While expenses have to be *up*, I think it is also pretty apparent that the Loop's revenues have to be way *down*. I see three factors for this:
(1) They don't get any revenue on the days when trains don't run. This year, the Loop is supposed to operate from May 8 to Oct 8, a total of 135 days. I haven't kept count of how many days the Loop has been out of service, but assuming my 135 day count is correct, I think it has already passed the 5% (7 days) mark. If and when the Loop reaches 14 days of downtime this season, it will have lost a full 10% of the season.
(2) Each day in which #9 is the only operating locomotive is a day in which they can only pull half of their passenger cars. In other words, a day on which only #9 is running is a day in which their potential revenue is cut in half.
(3) Each day the Loop operates with #12 and #9 doubleheading represents a 50% increase in crew costs over what it cost the GLRR, Inc. to operate the same-sized train. The GLRR, Inc. operated its regular 9-car train using a four person crew while Railstar needs a six person crew to pull the same length of train.
In short, the Loop's end of the fiscal year reporting will be interesting.
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Chris Webster
[www.speakeasy.org]