Scott Turner Wrote:
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> The Cumbres and Toltec ran fine for 1 season with
> one locomotive and they have 64 miles a day to
> run.
>
> Two things you might want to consider Michael:
>
> As an ex-GTL Inc. guy once pointed out to me -
> when you add up the mileage for all of the trips
> made in a single mid-season day on the Loop, and
> consider that all of that mileage is on steep
> grades and sharp curves, rather than just some,
> you pretty quickly figure out that motive power on
> the Loop takes every bit of the daily beating that
> C&TS motive power does, and arguably more. Don't
> make the mistake of underestimating how hard the
> Loop is on its motive power each and every day of
> operation - especially as it's one of the prime
> mistakes the CHS has continually made since the
> change of operators.
>
> And as for the single season the C&TS ran with one
> locomotive, you're greatly mistaken if you think
> that the RR ran "fine". The C&TS limped through
> that season on a limited schedule and survived
> only because of the hard work and dedication of
> its very experienced maintenance and operating
> crews, a lot of sweat and late nights, and, as I
> think even the most dedicated of the C&TS folks
> would admit, a good measure of plain old luck.
>
> Neither RR will run for long or run well with only
> a single locomotive, and the fact that #12 is a
> light one doesn't help a bit. The surprise this
> year would've been if they hadn't lost operating
> days.
>
> I don't spend my days in the Silverplume shop, so
> I've no idea how good, bad or indifferent daily
> maintenance is on the Loop these days, and I
> expect you really don't either. But good or bad,
> the underlying problem isn't about daily
> maintenance.
>
> Be a bit careful with those quick, judgemental
> throwaway lines.
Let me put it this way they weren't out of service due to engine problems for 30% of the season. What I meant about ran fine was no major engine failure. Is the loop going to have 2 engines in operation next year?
