Read the press release on ngdiscussion.

http://www.ngdiscussion.net/cgi-bin/NGDFcook.pl

http://www.ngdiscussion.net/cgi-bin/NGDFcook.pl
svry@cmc.net

I just posted these thought on NGDF but I'll carbon them here:
____________________________________

I can't convey how discouraging I find this. I have long felt that Georgetown Loop was a model public-private partnership: a top-notch professional operator to maintain and run and market the train, joining forces with a state preservation agency qualified to interpret, preserve and promote the surrounding historic context. All of this located in a great, Interstate-accessible tourist area, 2 hours from a major population center and tourist gateway.

I really have trouble accepting that such a sensible partnership has come to an end.

My understanding is that CHS feels it can negotiate a contract with another operator which will return more money to it. I beleive they are sadly mistaken--I don't see any other operator out there who can wring costs out of the system or drive revenue better than the Ashbys. If CHS thinks historic mountain railroading can become a cash cow they are kidding themselves. My fears now are that 1. that they will accept a bid from some wildly overoptimisitic and undercapitalized operator who will skimp on maintenance and capital reinvestment to maximize cash flow (digging themnselves into the same hole as C&TS in the late 90s); or, 2. they will simply discard the operation and become a static park. Either way, I fear we are going to end up with no more trains on the high bridge, either immediately or after a period of painful decline.

Call me gloomy, grumpy, miserable and frustrated.



eledbetter@rypn.org

> Call me gloomy, grumpy, miserable and
> frustrated.

I call you a very well gounded realist.

This can be nothing more than a breauacratic bungle wainting to happen.

There is an expression that I learned while doing some public service that seems to fit here..............

"In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king"

Exactly what must be the situation in Georgetown.

Bennett

v-scarpitti@att.net

On the NGDF. I hope the Ashby's announcement of closure will shock the Colorado Historical Society into reality. The Ashby's have done a fine job and have proven themselves more committed to history than CHS on more than one occasion.

http://www.ngdiscussion.net/cgi-bin/NGDFcook.pl?read=40467
ryarger@rypn.org

Is found somewhere in the movie "animal house" and involves frat boys being "unwell"...

This is troubling...GL is high in my top 10 list of the nation's scenic railroads... I'm sorry for the Loop... sorry for CHS... sorry for Georgetown and most of all sorry for the folks who will come along later and won't know what an incredible thing the loop was in steam.

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> Read the press release on ngdiscussion.
> http://www.ngdiscussion.net/cgi-bin/NGDFcook.pl

No offense, Dan, but read it a little closer, please. The railroad WILL OPERATE in 2004.

There is plenty of time for CHS and the Ashby partnership to reach an agreement. Perhaps the RFI mentioned in the Denver Post article would be a good thing - the current operator will look very good in comparison to any real-world bidder.

I can tell you from watching three rounds of RFIs and RFPs in the last ten years at the C&TS that Erik is spot-on. There are plenty of bidders with plenty of enthusiasm but little capital. I think CHS will be positively depressed with the responses they get.

I see a happy ending to this.

JAC

I assumed this was the case. Sometimes closed door negotiations get solved when taken outside the room. Besides I never said it was closing RIGHT NOW. I just said it is closing, which it is, unless something happens. People need to read the article, proposed closing date is in there.

dan

> No offense, Dan, but read it a little
> closer, please. The railroad WILL OPERATE in
> 2004.

> There is plenty of time for CHS and the
> Ashby partnership to reach an agreement.
> Perhaps the RFI mentioned in the Denver Post
> article would be a good thing - the current
> operator will look very good in comparison
> to any real-world bidder.

> I can tell you from watching three rounds of
> RFIs and RFPs in the last ten years at the
> C&TS that Erik is spot-on. There are
> plenty of bidders with plenty of enthusiasm
> but little capital. I think CHS will be
> positively depressed with the responses they
> get.

> I see a happy ending to this.

> JAC


svry@cmc.net

I visited this operation in 1994 and was impressed by the professionalism of the employees and operators as well as the scenic route.

The close proximity to a major interstate, closeness to meteropolitan area and other top vacation destinations, combined with the charming town that Georgetown is, seems to be a recipe for success.

Let's hope as John Craft said that there can be a happy ending to this story.

terry_dempsey@hotmail.com

I sure hope there is a happy ending to this. The Georgetown Loop is such a historical asset to the State of Colorado, the nation, and the entire world, and it would be just downright stupid for the Colorado Historical Society to terminate the ownership of the operators that have made the line successful for the last 30 years!!!!
I suggest e-mails to the CHS, and LOTS of them. Let them know that the public DOES CARE, and that they would be making one of the biggest mistakes in their history to close an attraction and piece of the past such as the Georgetown Loop Railroad!

Shane Schabow, 18, GLRR devotee

dcs310@comcast.net