Re: Yes and no.

John,

I fully agree that the so-called conflict can easily be managed with a little of that highly uncommon commodity, common sense. I was up in Durango last week and was floored to see that the trains up there were equipped with a second air line (I was told it was a straight air line... seems that somewhere I've heard that straight air was more responsive than automatic air). But it seems that they felt that they had a problem (it could be real or imagined, and it's really not important which it is) and they fixed it.

Now the C&TS IS a real railroad, as is the D&S. Make no mistake about that. But it's also a museum. So they are limited in what they can do... that includes NOT installing a second air line (even though they need it much more than the D&S does).

But the reality is that they have to run what essentially is an early 20th Century railroad in the early 21st century. As I said earlier, restringing the telegraph line is a great idea... from a museum point of view. From a railroaders point of view it's a PITA... radio does the job easier and better. And nobody has to learn how to be fluent (or at least proficient) in Phillip's code. Back in the day the only crewmen who could actually benefit from being able to listen into the wire were those rare men who had been lightning slingers before becoming crewmen. So you restring the wire, demonstrate how it works to us lookeyloos, and when you need to call the crew up on Cumbres, you pick up the radio mike.

I guess the conflict becomes apparent to those who want the C&TS to be purely a museum, and don't realize what it also is...a working railroad. The nice thing is that it's both... a fantastic museum to allow those of us who never had the chance (or have forgotten just how much damn hard work it was) to be a real part of a railroad, as well as a real railroad, complete with fire, smoke, steam, grime, cinders and more grime. My absolute favorite thing to do is lay in bed at the Shamrock (or Fosters, or wherever) and listen to the sound of whistles in the night.