Hello Roger,
Unfortunately, Westword (Joel Warner) only told a fraction of the entire story regarding the websites stated in his article.
This is not a “misguided attempt to get even with the CHS” as stated in your previous post. This is called “holding people accountable for their actions.” I want to know why dollars from the richest historic fund in the nation are being wasted on a project that was once successfully run by a private Colorado Corporation (us) for the Colorado Historical Society that cost them nothing. We risked everything. We were on the hook for all expenses and either made money or didn’t. We were concessionaires that paid the CHS a fee each year. We employed great people year-round to ensure that every Memorial Day weekend our trains, crews and systems were ready to meet the demand we built, and ran every trip through early October. And, thanks to our staff, we did it well.
When we attempted renegotiations with the CHS, our company, the Georgetown Loop Railroad, Inc. was left with a deal on the table that would have bankrupted our company operating under the CHS’s offer. It provided no incentive to provide the excellent service that had come to be expected from visitors to the Georgetown Loop. It was obvious that the CHS wanted complete control over the operation. The Colorado Historical Society then solicited a request for proposal of which Railstar, a New York firm gained control of the operation.
Since that time, the railroad has lost much of its ridership. It has been beset with mechanical problems and derailments forcing the railroad to completely shut down, 12-times in 2006 alone. The railroad can no longer meet demand due to the lack of equipment capable of carrying the numbers of passengers expecting to ride what once was a world class operation.
Now, Railstar and the Colorado Historical Society have delayed opening for the 2007 season until June 15th, missing almost 3-weeks and the all important Memorial Day weekend opening. Ultimately, Greed, incompetence, arrogance and inexperience are the cause of ruining a project that through years of hard work was built into a world class scenic steam train attraction.
Roger, not enough people are asking the difficult questions that need to be asked of the CHS. This is a much deeper issue than that of wanting to see the #9 run up and down the line. This is a perfect example of what happens when a governmental entity attempts to run what a private company did successfully for 32-years.
If we had missed our opening day, let alone 3-weeks of our operating season, we would have lost our contract with the CHS and been out of business. The merchants of Clear Creek County should be outraged, but I believe they are holding out hope that someday, they will perhaps get a cut of an “impact fee” that we never provided (and never intended to). We never asked for anything, just the freedom to operate our business. We brought well over a hundred thousand guests to Clear Creek County each and every year without missing a beat.
When word was out that we would not bid on an RFP (that would have bankrupted our company), not one merchant, county commissioner or resident questioned the CHS’s promise of “everything will be OK.”
If Georgetown residents and businesses are taking a beating, it is not by our hand, but by others. We have offices in Georgetown and will continue to promote our railroad which is open, meeting demand, and growing rapidly through the same recipe we used in Georgetown – a passion for the industry, employing a talented team, spending large dollars in marketing, and ensuring the safety of our guests.
Thank you for your post Roger.
Mark
