In light of recent events/post/comission agenda iteams, etc, etc...I have set up a 'proposal' type letter to send to the following parties. Please read all the way through before posting, that's all I ask for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 18, 2007
To:
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Management Corp
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR Commission
Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR
Greetings,
It has been brought to my attention that several changes may be in the future for the rail yard in Chama, New Mexico. I have received reports that the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR are proposing to build a building close to the size of the Chama Depot, to facilitate a visitor’s center and a covered car storage facility. While some may want to see the Chama Yard remain unchanged so that it resembles what the yard looked like 40 – 50 years ago, others welcome the changes over time. Is there a solution to preserve the history of the rail yard, and accompany the proposed changes to take place to better the future of the railroad?
While the idea of a visitor’s center seems like a welcome addition to the railroad, it doesn’t seem to be the same case when the museum would be located within the rail yard. If we want the rail yard to remain unchanged, preserving it if you will, to look as it did the day the last San Juan Express arrived, then it must not be changed at all. But several things through out the Cumbres & Toltec’s history have occurred that have changed the face of the yard. With the new engine house, the removal of one of the storage sheds, the addition of the Restrooms building, and several other changes over time. However, just because these changes over time have occurred doesn’t mean we have to change the yard any further.
I agree, that a museum or welcome center is needed to introduce newcomers to the railroad and it’s rich history. However, I do not believe a new structure should be built anywhere near/in the Chama Yard. Concept drawings have shown the structure would be built on Terrace Ave. (Main Street) and overlook the yard. The new structure would block the view of the rail yard, which should not happen. Main Street Chama has always had an unobstructed view of the Rail yard, and in order to keep the rail yard historic, this view should not change.
In addition to a proposed visitors center, I hear that a proposal to built a Car Storage Shed to cover yard tracks and would help keep the historic stock and box cars from deteriorating any further. However to the best of my knowledge, this car storage facility would be built over existing yard tracks. Once again, the yard has experienced changes over the years, but that doesn’t mean should have to change it any further. A covered storage facility would provide a shaded environment for restoration of rolling stock by volunteers, a very welcome idea, as most work sessions are scheduled for the hottest months of the year.
The car storage shed would also protect the cars from the elements. As we all know weather in Chama as well as the San Juan Mountains is very enjoyable, but very unforgiving. The sun beats down, fading the paint on the rolling stock, then rain seeps into every little crick and cranny of the wooden cars causing rot and decay. During the winters, most of the cars can be swamped with feet of snow piled up on their roofs, straining the wood with its heavy pressure sitting on them all winter. When the weather warms up, the snow begins to melt and just like the rain, water seeps into the cars causing rot to occur much faster. A covered shelter would be very useful in preserving these cars, but we don’t need to change the Chama Yard anymore than it is. What possible solution can be found?
There is a solution to this problem that can be both very rewarding and historically beneficial to the C&TSRR. Chama was a critical location on the Denver & Rio Grande Western RR, not only as a helper base, but also a location of industrial use. Even in the later years of the D&RGW, there were two industries in Chama that helped keep the railroad alive, right up to the end of operations in 1968. The GRAMPS oil company, and the Skyline Lumber Company. While today, the oil docks have been preserved, and a string of UTLX tank cars kept nearby demonstrating what the oil docks normally looked like. Yes, the oil docks were a major factor in keeping the D&RGW running as long as it did, and those facilities have been preserved. However, the lumber mill, Chama’s other major industry, is all but gone. But that can be changed…
Instead of building a structure on Terrace Ave overlooking the rail yard, and a covered car shed changing the face of the rail yard, there is a solution. Today, parking along Terrace Ave. and down in the railroads parking lot is often over crowded, and it is sometimes impossible to find parking. The addition of a visitor’s center would increase strain for more parking in this area. Here is my suggestion for a solution to have both visitors center, and covered rolling stock storage, without changing the historical authenticity of the railroad.
The possibility of acquiring the land at the site of the old saw mill should be at the top of the priority list for a visitor’s center. Building the visitors center to resemble that of what the lumber mill in Chama looked like. By doing so, there could be the possibility of increasing the size of the museum from about the size of the Chama Depot, to a facility three or four times as large. A larger facility means a larger museum, and thus much more can be incorporated into the building. Maybe even a large operating Sn3 or On3 layout of the Chama Yard in 1945 could be built in the lobby. By building a museum at this site, it also allows for much more parking and possibly allow for day parking for riders of the Cumbres & Toltec passenger trains. Buses could provide shuttle service or if one wants to live the railroad experience, handcars could be used to get to and from the Chama Depot. In addition, the site is right off of Highway 17 and could be a very attractive detour or rest stop for people ‘just passing through.’
Right next to, or a part of the museum, could be the covered storage shed. With the purchase of this land, the structure could be increased in size. In addition, the structure could be enclosed, and there to protect cars not just from sun and rain damage, but also wind damage. Several stockcars were victims to fierce winds in early June 2007. The structure could also be environmentally controlled that would control the humidity within the structure even further protecting the cars from the elements. By building the structure 2 or 3 tracks wide would also increase car capacity in this structure. Just outside would be a small staging yard with tracks leading into the storage shed. This same principal is used by many tourist railroads and museums across the country, and one such example is the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada.
To access the facility, a spur track closely located to the original spur track into the sawmill could be built across Camino Escondido Road and into the small yard. Furthermore, with how far west the tracks extend, large trains could be assembled and switched into/out of the yard for photo freight trains. In addition to building the museum to resemble the sawmill, ‘fake’ stacks of lumber could be placed on site and on flatcars. Real lumber stacks would not survive in Chama’s cruel environment, however, plastic wood look-a-likes are becoming popular, and to enhance the experience of the railroads heritage, the loaded flatcars could be used on photo freight trains. This creates the illusion that the D&RGW never really died at all, and is still hard at work sending shipments of fresh cut lumber up and over Cumbres Pass to Alamosa.
If we want to call the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR, ‘
living-history,’ then we must leave it as is, and take extra steps to keep it from changing. Several years ago, TRAINS magazine compared the rail yards in Ely, Nevada to the yard in Chama, New Mexico as being one of the most historically unchanged tourist railroads in the United States. That must be an honor that other railroads are being compare to being as historically significant as the C&TS. And because of that, I feel that it is important that we do everything in our power to keep it that way, even if it requires taking that extra big step to keep it that way. The future of the Cumbres & Toltec is depended upon by how we preserve it today. We must stop and think, about what people coming to Chama in the year 2030 would think. Their ancestors worked on the Denver & Rio Grande, and for them to come to Chama and realize that in all that time, the yard in Chama has not changed much. That same year, the Cumbres & Toltec will be celebrating its 60th anniversary of corporate existence. If we keep letting changes to take place over time to the yard in Chama, during the 60th anniversary, we may be having a reception at the Chama Depot/10-story Marriot Hotel.
The museum and covered car storage is very much needed, but we don’t need to change the face of the Chama Yard. Solutions can be found, and I believe the Museum being built on the site of the sawmill would be a major step forward. It would,
A ) Reduce parking congestion in the downtown Chama area,
B ) Be strategically located just off the highway, and before getting to the downtown area where the depot is located,
C ) Represent a building that once stood on that site and was a major contributor of the railroads history, and most importantly,
D ) Have the least amount of impact on the historical atmosphere of the Chama yard.
If anything, it would boost the historical value of not just the railroad, but to also contribute to the Village of Chama’s past as well.
Thank you for your consideration,
Zack Blea
Sept. 18th, 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had every intention of attending this Thursday's comission meeting and defending my proposal. However life has it's ways of keeping that from happening. I wanted to know what the community thinks about my idea as stated in the letter.
-DRGW489
