Moderator, was Steam returns to Colorado's Georgetown Loop R

Randy Hees · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:29 pm

I have just deleted a post in this thread, and warned the poster.

If we continue to discuss the issues at this railroad, we need to keep it civil, and within the boards guidelines. If that isn't possible I will lock the thread. I would prefer to continue the discussion.

Al Patterson · **Posted:** Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:39 pm

Face it, a successful operator with 20 years of success was booted for cheap, personal politics.

Obviously, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is beyond the grasp of a few (one?) political hack(s) in Colorado.

I'm glad they have steam again, but I doubt I'll go back there, unless a few things happen which I can't mention here without threat of being chastised or having my message deleted...

Dave · **Posted:** Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:52 am

Having been involved at several periods in the history of operations, I think one must be very careful not to ascribe any specific motivation to any specific person involved in the evolution. Believe me, if the motivations were rational or even comprehensible, it would have been fairly easy to find common ground, reach agreement, and move ahead decisively and effectively. If any specific individual was in charge, a decision could have been possible without weeks of dithering.

If you think you have a simple explaination for any action or lack of it, you are wrong. If you have a very complex explaination, it is almost certainly also wrong in some ways.

This isn't about bad guys and good guys, its about a painful series of changes involving a lot of larger factors and how they interacted or didn't over the course of several years. It isn't about who likes who and who doesn't. This isn't third grade. We can stop passing notes. If you want to be CSI, there is no chain of evidence or smoking gun, just a lot of blood spatter.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about what worked and what didn't, both technologically and operationally and some about structurally as well, when I had the time to do so. There could be some valuable lessons in this kind of post mortem, if we forget about the easy or facile name-calling stuff and concentrate on real causes and effects.

dave