Re: Wasted Effort-maybe, maybe not

One of the last C&TS Dispatch newsletters had a letter included from Richard Tower listing rider ship info from the 2006 season. If my memory serves me correctly, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas were the home states of the vast majority of C&TS riders for 2006, with Californians close behind. The Dispatch also annually lists the home states/countries of all members as a part of the annual report. The information is readily available. Tim or maybe Gwen at the Albuquerque office can probably supply electronic versions of these factoids.
Mr. Jennings refuses to recognize that this is just one of many such "attractions" that require some measure of governmental support in order to exist. Whether or not it is a "playground for railfans" matters not if there is an overarching return on the states investment. Even low-ball estimates of the economic return to local economies affected by the C&TS attraction indicate the local economies benefit from an economic return of three to four times what the states spend in funding. That in turn reduces the overall need for welfare support, especially in the two counties in which the C&TS operates.
While Mr. Jennings so-called "rantings" may seem to be innocuous, never underestimate the ability of the total inane to get the attention of the just as totally uninformed. Never turn your back on someone with a weapon, even if it is only their mouth.