THE LOOP POOP PAGE
8/26/05
It has been reported that no one choked on their chuck wagon at the HGI soiree on the Loop.
8/13/05
Denver Post, Regional Briefs
Railroad fills seats, but fewer available
The Georgetown Loop Railroad attracted 20,657 riders in July, filling nearly every seat on the tourist line.
Ridership still lags significantly behind last year's figures, remaining an issue for merchants in Georgetown who depend on the train's tourist traffic.
Railstar Corp., which took over operation of the line after the Colorado Historical Society ended its contract with the previous management, has had to acquire rolling stock and has fewer passenger-car seats available.
8/11/05 (see commentary below)
Georgetown Loop Railroad faces an uphill climb
New operator is struggling to meet passenger demand
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
August 10, 2005
GEORGETOWN - Fred Cothard and his family saw the old locomotive muscling its way uphill last year next to Interstate 70, and he promised his children they would all get to ride it someday.
On Tuesday afternoon, in a cold spitting rain, he kept his word, thanks to the Indiana license plates on his vehicle and a sympathetic employee at the Georgetown Loop Railroad.
"We tried to get on the 12:10 p.m. train and it was sold out," Cothard said. "But a guy with the railroad saw the plates and pulled some strings to get us on the next one."
Not everyone is so lucky. Railstar, the New York-based company that is operating the historic 3.1-mile rail route between Georgetown and Silver Plume for the first time this year, has is facing heavy passenger loads.
So much so, in fact, that train rides are regularly sold-out and the company sometimes adds an additional trip late in the afternoon to accommodate the extra demand.
That inconvenience for some visitors has provided much of the ammunition for those who remain angry over last year's fight and eventual divorce between the Colorado Historical Society and Georgetown Railroad Loop Inc.
The main salvo fired by critics has been that Railstar is servicing far fewer passengers than Georgetown Railroad Loop Inc. did last year, with some reports showing a 40 percent decline when comparing June 2004 with June 2005.
But Railstar officials, and some merchants in historic Georgetown, argue that it's because the company is operating only one train and has fewer passenger cars than Georgetown Railroad Loop Inc. - which amassed several engines and more than a dozen cars over the course of its 32 years as chief operators of the route.
The hard numbers for July 2005 ridership will be released today, said Railstar spokeswoman Kathy Denzer. She wouldn't disclose if they were up or down, but said the company is doing well for having "to start from scratch."
Denzer said that when Railstar first took on the route, it had no engines and has been steadily working to increase its capacity to serve tourists. She said there are plans to have extra cars and trains running next season.
Some merchants in the historic portion of Georgetown hope that comes true.
Tom Wilson, owner of the Mountain Inn for the past eight years, said he thought Railstar "bit off more than they could chew" when taking over the route. And he worried early on when he heard reports the ridership on the trains was down compared to 2004.
But Wilson said that since then, "they're doing much better than I thought" and that he has taken a pragmatic approach to the new partnership between the city and Railstar. "We are in the same boat together," he said. "We need each other to thrive. That's just business."
Other merchants said that the overall decrease in riders hasn't affected business. The toughest obstacle Georgetown faced, said Eleanor Ceuleers, is the perception that the train isn't even running anymore.
Ceuleers, owner of The Little Shop, said that two weeks ago a person in Arvada told her it was "too bad" that the train wasn't running anymore. Ceuleers said she has regularly corrected people on that point, telling them that the train is, in fact, still hauling passengers.
Commentary:
How soon they forget.
Kathy Denzer acts like Railstar never intended to provide rollingstock in order to acquire this contract.
The RFP for this project might as well have read: "Any vendor with no knowledge of mountain railroading and with absolutely no intent of providing rollingstock or their own financing should respond to this RFP".
That's right. BOTH the CHS and Railstar promised equipment that they could not provide. And the CHS took it one step further and not only promised that acquiring this equipment would be a cinch, but also that the whole process would be seamless.
On top of it, the project is over a million dollars over budget and is still hemmoraging money daily (and yes, we have copies of every state provided invoice!). How much state money will it cost to fix something that was never broken to begin with?
Think about it, Railstar doesn't even buy their own pencils, tools, cell phone service or even the condo they rented from Beth Luther. Nope, the state historical fund is paying for all of that and more. If they hired Railstar for their railroad expertise, then why the heck have hundreds of thousands been spent on outside consulting and rail maintenance?
Nope. Truth of the matter is that Railstar is just another in a long line of contractors and performing a tiny fraction of the work of the talented previous operators.
What the previous operators did not and what NY based Railstar now apparently has is a Colorado state organization willing to dump millions into their livelihood. And as every Colorado citizen knows, there's plenty of state money to spend -so much so that they are trying to stop citizens from receiving state issued refunds !
Last year the previous operators could not convince CHS to fix their sewage water lines at the Depot. It was not important to the CHS. We're guessing that last week, with all the sani-potties lined up, that they discovered that it was an important issue.
8/8/05
Instead of throwing a huge benefit for the local merchants who have been severely affected by the CHS numbskulls (including HGI's own Lee Behrens) decision to oust a successful local family run train operation with the intent of doing so much better and "seamless"ly despite logic and reality, are having a hoedown on the train. We hope they choke on their chuckwagon. And maybe while they are choking they will cough up the $50,000.00 that HGI took from our town to buy their alleged Visitor Center property. That $50,000 was SUPPOSED to be for use of the Visitor Center for our police station for ten years. The greedy little HGIans are now angling for the same type of "help" from the town to restore the town's Alpine Hose House. The Alpine House Hose is NOT owned by HGI. So, why would HGI be so anxious to fill out another grant application for the town-owned Alpine Hose House? Well, for starters, HGIan architects, Gary Long and Kathy Hoeft get to pocket $20,000 just to assess the building - despite the fact that this work should be BID on!
Georgetown tourist railroad deemed 'good' after repairs
By Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News
July 16, 2005
The Georgetown Loop Railroad received a good evaluation from federal safety officials Friday, a week after an engine derailed while pulling a train packed with tourists.
"The general condition of this insular tourist railroad is good, and it is obvious that the management and employees are working hard to improve the condition more," Federal Railroad Administration chief inspector Mike Ramsey wrote in an inspection report, according to a news release by the Colorado Historical Society.
The society owns the park land at the historic site and the 3.1-mile, narrow-gauge mountain railroad, about 45 miles west of Denver.
It is being operated by Railstar Corp. this summer, the first summer that Railstar has been in charge.
The inspection was prompted by the July 8 derailment of the lead engine on an afternoon trip, although no passengers were injured.
A second engine backed the cars about three miles down the twisting roadbed to the depot.
Full service resumed two days later after Railstar replaced about 20 deteriorated ties in the roadbed.
The FRA considers the railroad "insular" because it is not connected to the national railway system, so the agency does not routinely inspect it.
Metro / region briefs
Denver Post Staff and Wire Reports
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Agency to take a look at train derailment
An inspector from the Federal Railroad Administration is scheduled to visit the Georgetown Loop railroad today, a week after a minor derailment put the corkscrewing tourist line in the spotlight.
The federal agency typically does not inspect the narrow- gauge railroad, which is considered "insular" since it does not cross any highways and operates at low speeds, but the July 8 mishap attracted FRA attention, said spokesman Warren Flatau.
"The agency's custom and practice is to look into or follow all safety complaints. I don't think the word 'investigation' is necessarily appropriate here," he said.
Ron Trottier, the train's general manager, expected the agent to conduct a thorough inspection of the track, which was repaired after the derailment. Trottier he attributed the derailment to rotten ties not yet detected on the normal maintenance schedule.
The derailment, which caused no significant damage and resulted in no injuries, is the latest setback for the tourist line after its longtime operator was dumped by the Colorado Historical Society last fall and replaced by a New York firm, Railstar Corp.
Ridership this year is down 45 percent through June, according to figures submitted to the state this week, and Railstar has struggled to keep its lone steam engine running while it refurbishes a second one.
Merchants in Georgetown - where much of the summer economy is dependent on the train - remain hopeful for a turnaround in train traffic while they manage to tread water.
7/14/05
Feds to check out tourist train
By Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News
July 14, 2005
The Federal Railroad Administration will check the safety of the Georgetown Loop Railroad because of a recent derailment, an agency spokesman said Wednesday.
The mountain railroad, which shuttles summer tourists between Georgetown and Silver Plume, has not been subject to federal oversight because it is a narrow-gauge line that is not a link in the national railway system, said Warren Flatau, FRA spokesman.
"Heretofore, we have not exercised jurisdiction," Flatau said. "However, we are taking a look at the railroad in light of the concerns that have been raised since last weekend's derailment."
Details of the inspection have not been determined, he said.
On Friday afternoon, a diesel engine, traveling no more than 8 mph, slid off the track as it was pulling a steam locomotive and six loaded passenger cars around a curve on the climb to the Silver Plume depot, said Kathy Denzer, spokeswoman for the tourist attraction.
"To the passengers, it felt like a normal stop," Denzer said. "No jolting, no jerking, no injuries."
The steam locomotive then backed the cars, loaded with about 170 passengers, nearly three miles to the Georgetown station, she said.
The accident was "a minor derailment," said Rebecca Laurie, spokeswoman for the Colorado Historical Society.
The society owns the land and 3.1-mile railroad, while the train is in the first summer of operation by Railstar Corp.
Full service resumed Sunday after the corporation replaced about 20 deteriorated ties in the roadbed, said Ron Trottier, general manager of the Georgetown Loop.
Ties in the roadbed on the line's spectacular high bridges have been inspected separately, Trottier said.
The FRA regulates Colorado's other tourist trains because they are part of the national railway system, Flatau said.
7/13/05
The #21 Diesel has not been back in operation since the derailing. Railstar informs us that it is not because of damage to the loco as a result of the derailing. Railstar is now running 5 car trains with STEAM #12.
