Last year, when the CHS and Railstar got the 9 running, and in a condition which we were led to believe was good, there was tons of support for CHS and Railstar on this board. It seemed as though they had gotten their act together and the contributors here were more than willing to give them a season full of 'atta-boys.'
Now that the slipshod methods used to rebuild the 9 and the equally hazardous and detrimental manner in which it was run has become public knowledge, that support you seem to so fervently desire has dwindled. Each day there is a new revelation of mishandling and mismanagement. Their actions give very little reason for anyone to have a positive attitude about the Loop operation.
Did the C&TS stub its toe? Certainly. Happens on a mountain railroad. Do they do things competently 99+% of the time? Again, certainly. I can't say the same for the current operator of the Loop and neither can anyone else.
Rats! When this whole thing started I promised myself I wouldn't get involved. That is how frustrating this whole thing has become and its implications threaten too many other operations that I hold dear. They need to be hung out to dry.