Setting the record straight:

We have put the CHS's feet to the fire all along regarding the Loop. They've deserved it and we've obliged. Railstar is the new operator and although we have very serious concerns about their corporate welfare and the fact that they were chosen to fulfill an RFP to run a narrow gauge operation with no equipment, we all agree that Mr. Peter Gores, the General Manager of Railstar, is an absolutely excellent man, who is working his butt off to make the impossible true. He can't . However experienced, honest and diligent, the man cannot fulfill what the CHS has promised - a seamless transition. Running using 100% of your motive power with 6 cars does not compare to having several engines on hand and running 9 car trains plus another 4 car train on the weekends.  The CHS/Railstar contract makes the concession of 40,000 less passengers. Mr. Gores, in all his honesty, believes he will be happy if they reach 80,000 this year -meaning 50,000 less passengers this year compared to last. We believe that to be quite ambitious, but don't think we are in disagreement due to treachery or deliberate misconception. That's the difference. It's people from the CHS with their loud bully voices, their snide, disrespectful remarks and their blatant lies that give the whole situation an icky, unwelcoming, offensive impression. But, that's not Peter Gore's style. He's honest. We expect that the man would sooner jump off Devil's Gate bridge than to operate an unsafe train. The Ashby's and Greksa's and Mr. Ropchan built a fabulous, world-class operation and it took them a few to get off the ground -luckily the CHS interfered little. It will take Railstar even longer to get off the ground with all the CHS involvement. We publish these criticism's because we happen to be the people that people like to send complaints to. We have heard of some good experiences, but everyone knows that a disgruntled guest is more damaging in that they have the propensity to spout their angry experience to anyone who will listen. We believe that Mr. Gores will take the following comments as constructive criticism.

Here are some emails and feedback that we have gotten from passengers of the Railstar Loop (FOR NOW ON, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO FORWARD YOUR DISGRUNTLED PASSENGER REPORTS TO RAILSTAR -WITH YOUR CONTACT INFO. -THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO REMEDY THE EXPERIENCE):

A sloppy character wearing a cowboy hat was telling us about how much better the new operation was in between spitting inches from our feet. We found this man to be rude, full of himself and after experiencing the ride ( not on time and soooo fast!) Wrong! We won't be back.

We called and made a reservation for a morning train. When we arrived we were told that the first train was not to leave until 2pm. There's nothing else for a family to do in Georgetown, so we went to Canon City.

We showed up for the ride after making a reservation for Father's day weekend, but was told by some rude kid at the ticket window that we could not get on the train that weekend. The kid mentioned something about not having enough cars. We asked why we were told we had a reservation when we didn't. No explanation, just that we were out of luck. I will never bring my family back to Georgetown.

I was with a professional tour group that attended a hosted ride. We rode the #12 and it had 4 cars. The train went so fast that we could not possibly enjoy the scenery. When we stopped at the mine, more passengers than they had room for boarded the train. The conductor told us before picking them up that we were to find a seat and that we were not to move around during the trip for safety reasons. When the mine tour riders boarded they were told that they could stand for a few minutes until we got back to Georgetown! We were packed in like sardines and we were knee to knee, with no room for anyone to walk through. It was awful, scary and obvious that the new operators will not be able to take a large group.

I have been on the train in previous years and very much enjoyed the ride as well as the friendliness of the crew. This time the crew was rude, quite literally stank and did not interact with the passengers whatsoever.

I tried to make a group reservation for the train, but was given the phone number for the Royal Gorge Route Railroad!