Taxpayers pay half of costs when D&SNG starts fires: Report

G. W. Laepple · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1182

On another board, the "volunteer firefighter" was identified by name and is a well-known railfan and photographer. Why in the world would he do something to imperil the railroad?

SlideValve · **Joined:** Mon Sep 19, 2016 9:04 pm **Posts:** 6

G. W. Laepple wrote:

On another board, the "volunteer firefighter" was identified by name and is a well-known railfan and photographer. Why in the world would he do something to imperil the railroad?

Some in the railfan community haven’t exactly been as fair to the D&S as one would expect; in fact, “hostile” might be a better word to describe the attitudes of some. I’ve seen, on other boards, full-grown adults literally expressing “demands” that they restore (or literally surrender) such-and-such piece of equipment, or run such-and-such charter, and other borderline insane propositions from those who don’t seem to get (or rather, refuse to acknowledge) that it’s an operating, for-profit railroad.
While there’s always been a fringe of railfans who seem to treat any railroad with this behavior, the D&S seems to get a great deal of it. Essentially, their expectation is for the D&S to be the C&TS, even though the two are completely different animals at their core (for-profit vs. nonprofit), and any critical comparison drawn between them isn’t really a fair one. But at the end of the day, one is inherently more flexible to the whims of photographers, and the other is not, and that’s all that matters to folks like that.
In short, just because someone is a fan of the trains, doesn’t mean they’re a fan of the people who keep them running. I’ve encountered some rather obtuse, and disturbing people in this community.

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1086

G. W. Laepple wrote:

On another board, the "volunteer firefighter" was identified by name and is a well-known railfan and photographer.

I think you are confusing two different people.

According to earlier articles in The Durango Herald newspaper, the well-known railroad photographer had been a volunteer firefighter when he was much younger. As far as I know, he no longer attempts to fight fires. When the well-known photographer witnessed the fire start, he had his wife call the fire department and a neighbor. That neighbor then attempted to douse the fire using an old insecticide spray truck.

Both individuals say that they love the train and live where they do, in the Meadowridge subdivision along the D&SNG, because of the train.

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1086

FYI, here is a short excerpt of an informative March 10, 2018 article in The Durango Herald:

Quote:

FireWise of Southwest Colorado recently announced that the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was named as one of nine 2018 Wildfire Mitigation Award winners during the Feb. 28 International Association of Fire Chiefs Wildland-Urban Interface Conference in Reno, Nevada.

and another excerpt:

Quote:

According to a news release, FireWise nominated the railroad for the multifaceted approach it uses to reduce wildfire risk in the area. Since 2002, when the 70,000-acre Missionary Ridge Fire shut down the train for weeks, the railroad has taken a wide range of wildfire precautions – crews were trained to monitor for fires and haul water to suppress them before they spread, and a helicopter was even added to the mix to hover over the route in June and July when fire danger is at its highest.

For the past three years, the railroad has hired Southwest Conservation Corps to conduct fuel reduction operations along 160 acres of land near the tracks. An additional fuels-reduction project was conducted north of Durango along County Road 200, which gives access to four small communities and the Rockwood train station.

“We feel the railroad’s efforts truly exemplify how everyone has a role to play in creating fire-adapted communities,” said FireWise executive director Ashley Downing. “We are impressed by their unique approaches and the many partners they work with in their efforts.”

Link to full article, published on March 10, 2018 by The Durango Herald:
Railroad nationally recognized for fire mitigation - National award given to promote effective practices in community