Kerry Ann, thanks for the report. So let me get this straight. The CHS took what was one of the finest and professionally run tourist train operations in the country and gave the operators the boot in 2004. They have now spent over 3 million dollars replacing infrastructure and they still don’t have the C&S #9 running properly, no work has been done to its own tender, the C&S #74 has been torn apart to ascertain it is not rebuildable and its tender loaned to C&S #9 with no timetable or commitment to return it & #74 to Boulder, the "historic" #111 is undergoing a rebuild of unknown cost and timeline, and they haven’t completed paying for the SV #123 restoration? So how many more millions will all this add to the 3 million already spent???
Now from the revenue side they will have seen a decline of ridership of roughly 50,000 riders per season (based on 2004 season). If we estimate an average ticket price (75% adult/ 25% child) = $16.75 per passenger then including the upcoming 2007 season projected ridership the CHS/ RailStar management team will have lost another 2.5 million in revenue vs. the previous operator. And what about all the revenue sharing money Georgetown and Silver Plume were to get? Sure hope the merchants can balance their books better then these guys...
Now we hear that Colorado doesn’t have enough money to fund their share of the C&TS track repair program this year. But lest we forget the CHS has no shortage of funds to continue to spend on the LoOP changeover because they are part of the State Dept. of Higher Education? But wait, wasn’t that gambling tax money ear marked to be spent on bonafide state historic preservation projects?? Seems like the CHS hands are getting pretty sticky in the cookie jar... such a sad "state" of affairs in Colorado... an early retirement program for the CHS management and a state audit would be a good place to start to clean house...
Rod Jensen
