Re: C&TS Two shop facilities

Mark:

Dang, you shot my post to pieces before I was able to smoke out some of the back shop boys and get their opinions, (picks self up off of the bar room floor and dusts off the peanut shells)

I understand your explanations on the shops locations including the historical, political, community and other reasons why it is the way it is. I do want to understand why the Friends need to have completely separate car repair facilities though. Now if the reasoning is the operator doesn’t want the liability of a bunch of volunteers all over their shop I can understand that (I can’t stand it when my tools disappear off my bench) But then I am thinking if one of the main purposes for the railroads existence is the economic benefit to the communities then why isn’t car repair something that the locals could be doing and getting paid for?

I count something like 170 +/- historic cars and such that the Friends are responsible for maintaining. Based on this fleet how many cars (including the wood passenger cars) will be restored in each of the Friends car shops on an annual basis in the coming years? Do the Friends have enough volunteer labor to sustain this level of restoration or would it be more productive (and economically beneficial to the community) to have a separate car shop crew contracted by the Friends working under the auspices of the operator? Please understand I am not trying to suggest that the Friends don’t do quality car restoration work or that this isn’t their responsibility. Just take an honest objective look at the tasks in the coming years (labor hours) and then think about the idea of full time carpenters/ cabinet makers etc. as an option to a part time volunteer labor pool. Now before you shoot me down again I would say the money to pay for this is going to have to come from the same types of grants and such as are used for the locomotive restorations.

Now after you have thought through the above consider then if a new combined car and locomotive backshop in Chama under the operator control could be an option worth exploring.

(Ducks behind table to avoid flying beer bottles)

Rod

P.S. If you are in Chama this coming week please tell John Cole to buy a round for his pole crew on me and I will reimburse him next time I am “hanging” around...