I find all of this hand wringing very interesting.
Two years ago there was worry on this very forum that after the extrication of Black Bart as to whether the C&TS would even be able to survive. They were down to one locomotive, passenger count was down, track was in terrible shape, locomotive part were sold through the back door for the Roundhouse. The reservation system was in chaos.
Now, for the first time in five years, there is positive progress being made. A much needed visitors center is being proposed and built. A shed to cover the rapidly deteriorating equipment is proposed. The right-of way is being upgraded for the first time since about 1952 with rock ballast. Indoor car repair facilities have been built in Antonito. Locomotives are being rebuilt and returned to service after sitting idle for years.
These are all positive changes, and you guys are complaining? There is money being spent to improve the property and make it safer and less maintenance intensive, and you're worried about "Historic Fabric"? Passenger revenues are up and there is, for the first time in a long time money to do things with and you guys are worried about the color of the coaches and what is painted on the side of the tenders?
For crying out loud fellas, dig out your books, read about what cinders do to ties. They don't provide adequate drainage, they trap dirt which holds water which rots the ties, and finally the acid left from the coal eats the ties away. A gravel base in the yards is something that can be easily leveled and walked on and provides support for the tracks. Gravel keeps the cinders in check so that they do not surround and attack the ties. The Rock Ballast on the main line will increase speeds provide for adequate drainage for the ties and cause less wear and tear on the locomotives and equipment. This is the C&TS, not the D&RGW, who did whatever they could on the cheap. The D&RGW used cinders because they had plenty of them, and it was a cheap way to get rid of them. Heck, they used mine slag for ballast on their main line. Effective but Cheap.
The C&TS is fulfilling its mandate. It is preserving the equipment and operation. It is actually improving the operations overall by the heavy expenditure on the right-of-way. This will pay off in the future and make them less reliant on the largesse of the states. The same with a shed to fend off the effects of the high altitude weather.
Heck, I'm all for rebuilding the roundhouse and putting in an adequate length turntable, just so there is a place to put the locomotives that need servicing and shopping to negate the effects of the weather. That would also be a big positive in my book.
Without this type of work the C&TS would remain at status-quo. Struggling for each nickel.
Don't complain, Congratulate and support the progress, because it insures their future and the safety of their operations.
But then again, I Railroad for a living and have seen what a nightmare "deferrred maintenance" is. It's not historic folks, it's a beginning of big problems. Fortunately for us the C&TS is facing those problems and working their way out of them. They just may be here tomorrow, unlike the Loop.
Rick
