For those of you who might have ridden on it sometime since 1958, the year it was built, The Miniature Railroad at the entrance to Royal Gorge Park outside of Canon City, CO. is closing its doors today, Sept. 30th. A real Cryin' shame in that it was such a SCENIC ride, and a real Colorado institution. There are a few good youTube videos of it for viewing for those who have never ridden it. I can't believe that in my own lifetime, I have seen the RGS (Rio Grande Southern) abandoned, and now the RGS (Royal Gorge Scenic) being abandoned. Two RGS's in one lifetime...that's TOO many!

"Are park trains real?"

I would say this one is, particularly in terms of its civil engineering--three miles of what the British would call "minimum gauge" railroad, with several impressive bridges and a good bit of earthwork. I wonder how much it would cost to duplicate something like that today, even if the environmental review wouldn't be likely to bug things up. Equally, I wonder what the rate of return would have been over the years. Who would finance something like that today?

I wonder if we as a society are focused too much on money.

I, too, have always been extremely impressed with the engineering aspect of the RG Scenic. As you say, really spectacular trestles and earthwork for a Miniature Railroad. (15" gauge - the Minimum Gauge, like he says; a term coined by the British, and really accurate in this instance)

I'm far more interested in why they are shutting down. If you can't make it after 50+ years in a tourist destination.........either you missed a critical boat or you are voluntarily retiring, or something bad happened. It would be very interesting to know the story.

Yeah, we all whine when we lose something, but if we learn how to avoid it from studying examples and case studies we might have a lot less to whine about in the future.

dave

The operation was sold to one of the Koch brothers--two years ago. Yeah, those guys. The operator of the little railroad was given those two years to wind things down. A neighboring "Old West" tourist trap called Buckskin Joe's was also pruchased by the same individual. Everything will be moved to Mr. Koch's private estate elsewhere in Colorado.

Tourism is changing because of the economy and the cost fo travel. People are more interested in destination resorts, where you spend a week or two sampling local attractions, and "stay-cations," making the most out of what is in your own backyard. The old "If this is Thursday, we must be in California" type of great American road trip, the kind that, in years past, made the Rio Grande Scenic a smash success, is rapidly dying. This little railroad died of the same thing that has killed virtually the entire amusement park industry that we knew as kids. If the future looks shaky and somebody comes along and offers you a big pot of money, take it and run, and nostalgia be damned.

Mike

> I'm far more interested in why they are shutting down.

If the YouTube videos are any indication, patronage was very light.

As others have mentioned, a lot of things have changed. 50 years ago, an attraction like this was considered a lot of fun, and people would come from a long ways to visit places of this sort. As a kid, I recall stopping at places like a hotel shaped vaguely like a ship, from which you could "See X states!" (3, maybe 4 I don't recall...)

Today, if it doesn't say "Disney" or "Universal Studios", it won't get a second glance as folks speed by. (I see Mike said pretty much the same thing...)

We have a lot more attractions since this line was built in 1958 too, even in railroads.

Think about it: Cumbres & Toltec, Georgetown Loop, Royal Gorge Route Railroad (the big one), in addition to the ones that already existed: Silverton, Pikes Peak, and California Zephyr.

If you are going to make a trip, which one would you pick first? Probably not the miniature train. And if your goal is to see the Gorge, then today you might just pick the helicopter instead.

After giving it some thought, I think a lot of the impact is due to the freeways and also how easy (if no longer cheap) it is to fly someplace. You lose a big chunk of people to the "Fly to Disney and spend a week in the bubble" crowd. Sure, they blow big bucks, but all "in the park", so if you're not Disney you're not getting a piece of the action.

As for the Freeways, it's a lot like the town of Radiator Springs in the Cars Movie. They built the freeway, bypassed the town and the placed dried up and blew away.

Think about all the roadside attractions back in the 1950's and 60's. Small amusement parks, western towns, oddities and curiosities of all types. "World's biggest / tallest / longest / weirdest". It didn't help that many of them were at best shoddy and often just plain ripoffs.

Today you can hop in your car, crank up the a/c, turn on the tunes, put a movie in for the kids in the back seat and travel in living room style comfort down the freeway at 70 mph. Why would you even consider stopping at "Cowboy Chuck's Buffalo Ranch and Burger Barn" when you're on the way to Six Flags? Sure, many would argue that Six Flags is also a ripoff, but at least it's a known quantity...

Add in the potential for lawsuits, the cost of insurance, zoning laws, encroaching suburbs and generally slow economy (insert a rant against the political opposition here) and you have the end of a mom and pop stores, burger stands, tourist traps, train rides, dude ranchs, motels shaped like teepees, race tracks, airports, and hundreds of other small time businesses that are rapidly going away.

I'm getting old I guess, but I recall when you stayed in a hotel and it had a unique style and ambiance of it's own. You could tell at a glance what hotel you were in. Today, on a long road trip you might stay in 10 different hotels, but every morning when you wake up, the room looks the same as it did yesterday. The view often does too with cookie cutter malls, stores, fast food joints etc.

Here's a good example. "Roadside America", basically a really big model railroad.

http://digital.hagley.org/cdm/singleite ... id/3/rec/2

The postcard says, among other things, "Rated as the greatest attraction in America"

A bit of hyperbole even back then, and to the point of being laughable today.

"Hey kids, you wanna go to Disneyland?" "Ah, Dad, we were hoping to go to 'Roadside America' instead!"

A few more tidbits on the Royal Gorge and Buckskin Joes operation:

http://www.westword.com/related/to/Joseph+Higgenbottom/

The effect that the Interstate Highway System and the streamlining of travel has had on small local operators has been an ongoing story of the later part of the 20th century.

It comes in all forms, but is far from something new. It surprises me that things like this have held out at all, actually.

You either "need an angle", need to be near enough to something else that's moderately interesting, but not overwhelmingly entertaining (like the major theme parks), or need to be near enough to a population center to be an effective day trip.

Lacking one of those, you're in for a long bleed out.

About 5 months ago, I was in Canon City to see the two Ex-Milwaukee Domes on the 1:1 Royal Gorge Scenic and drove past this place to see the suspension bridge over the gorge. On the way back I went back an forth trying to decide if I should stop. In the end I did, and boy am I glad I did. As others have noted, it is quite the miniature engineering accomplishment. I am saddened to hear of its closure.

But you know how fickle people are....it won't be many more years before a wave of "nostalgia for the old times" hits the country and folks will be out in force trying to relive childhood memories with road trips. It happens every once in a while. Only when the next wave of nostalgia seekers start out, THIS great little attraction won't be there for them to relive! And it is located to a Nationally famous, and highly visited landmark...the Royal Gorge itself. It just seems to me that, with that location, a little different advertising campaign, and some streamlining of operations, it SHOULD have been able to make it. (But probably with not enough of a return to make anyone wealthy, just comfortable)

While being way off the Interstate network can work against you (example: EBT), the opposite can work in your favor. When Pennsylvania Trolley Museum purchased a piece of a Pittsburgh Railways interurban line in 1953 the Interstates were just a dream. By a masterstroke of dumb luck we ended up adjacent to Interstates 70 and 79, just a short distance off either one. PTM's continued growth, bordering on amazing to some, can be largely attributed to easy accessability to Interstate travelers. While we get visitors from every state and province, the vast majority of our patrons come from within 100 miles of the museum, reinforcing the notion that exploring your neighborhood is on the rise. When good luck comes your way, you have to make the most of it. When it's bad luck (or in this venue, a remote location), maybe it's time to consider a move.

Hadn't thought about that factor. I wonder how many prospective visitors decided to go and ride the full size Royal Gorge Scenic instead?

Also, the location of this attraction is really unfortunate. It's "only a mile from the bridge" but on a side road and presumably easily missed. I think the "Buckskin Joe's" western town attraction drove most of the visitors.

Here's another article on the railroad's demise.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21494 ... lways-last