 |
Re: Grand Canyon Steam closing reason - From Trains Magazine
Author: Doug
Date: 09-17-2008 - 11:55
Ridership loss, rising fuel prices drove GCR to cancel steam program
September 11, 2008WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Fires have been permanently dropped from Grand Canyon Railway's steam locomotives, owner Xanterra Parks & Resorts has announced. The company said it is permanently canceling the steam program owing to its impact on the environment, and has laid off 20 employees as a result. An industry source with specific knowledge of the situation, however, paints the action as a business decision driven by fewer riders and costlier fuel.
Grand Canyon's steam locomotives will be placed on static display, and Xanterra spokesperson Judi Lages said the company has no plans to sell them.
GCR operates one daily steam trip between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The trains are powered by one of the railroad's three steam locomotives: a 2-8-0 and two 2-8-2s.
Xanterra bought GCR early last year. The company operates parks and resorts in several national parks including Death Valley, Crater Lake, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon. Denver businessman Phil Anschutz, known to the rail industry as the longtime owner of Denver & Rio Grande Western and Southern Pacific, announced plans this summer to buy Xanterra; the deal is expected occur this fall.
Lages said Xanterra had not factored the money to be saved by canceling the steam program into its decision. "We didn't analyze the cost savings. It was driven by the environmental impact," she said.
However, the industry source said that's just not the case. He said GCR's ridership this year was down double digits over last year. Meanwhile, at the height of this tourist season, diesel fuel cost 50 percent more than it did a year ago. "What it amounts to is the cost of fuel going up, and ridership going down," the source said. "Those are two arrows that are pointed at each other."
Xanterra provided TRAINS News Wire with a letter it wrote to a steam fan concerned about the cancellation that outlines some of the operational factors of running steam and diesel locomotives. In the letter, Xanterra claims a steam locomotive uses 1,450 gallons of diesel fuel to run a round trip from Williams to the rim of the canyon, while a diesel locomotive uses only 550. The letter also cites the water savings, plus the savings in journal oil, steam oil, and bearing oil, plus the 1,200 gallons of water used daily by the steam engine.
"[W]hile we certainly understand and appreciate your feelings regarding our decision to suspend operations of the steam engines, we hope the above points will help you understand our decision," Lages wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, diesel-hauled trains will continue to make the 65-mile run between Williams and the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The company operates vintage Montreal Locomotive Works units, four FPA4s and two FPBs built for Canadian National and later used by VIA Rail Canada, as well as three former Amtrak F40PHs built by EMD.
The source said despite the sad loss of the steam engines, he understands Xanterra's decision. "The real reason for this is purely business and economics," he said. "I can't fault that."
September 11, 2008WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Fires have been permanently dropped from Grand Canyon Railway's steam locomotives, owner Xanterra Parks & Resorts has announced. The company said it is permanently canceling the steam program owing to its impact on the environment, and has laid off 20 employees as a result. An industry source with specific knowledge of the situation, however, paints the action as a business decision driven by fewer riders and costlier fuel.
Grand Canyon's steam locomotives will be placed on static display, and Xanterra spokesperson Judi Lages said the company has no plans to sell them.
GCR operates one daily steam trip between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The trains are powered by one of the railroad's three steam locomotives: a 2-8-0 and two 2-8-2s.
Xanterra bought GCR early last year. The company operates parks and resorts in several national parks including Death Valley, Crater Lake, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon. Denver businessman Phil Anschutz, known to the rail industry as the longtime owner of Denver & Rio Grande Western and Southern Pacific, announced plans this summer to buy Xanterra; the deal is expected occur this fall.
Lages said Xanterra had not factored the money to be saved by canceling the steam program into its decision. "We didn't analyze the cost savings. It was driven by the environmental impact," she said.
However, the industry source said that's just not the case. He said GCR's ridership this year was down double digits over last year. Meanwhile, at the height of this tourist season, diesel fuel cost 50 percent more than it did a year ago. "What it amounts to is the cost of fuel going up, and ridership going down," the source said. "Those are two arrows that are pointed at each other."
Xanterra provided TRAINS News Wire with a letter it wrote to a steam fan concerned about the cancellation that outlines some of the operational factors of running steam and diesel locomotives. In the letter, Xanterra claims a steam locomotive uses 1,450 gallons of diesel fuel to run a round trip from Williams to the rim of the canyon, while a diesel locomotive uses only 550. The letter also cites the water savings, plus the savings in journal oil, steam oil, and bearing oil, plus the 1,200 gallons of water used daily by the steam engine.
"[W]hile we certainly understand and appreciate your feelings regarding our decision to suspend operations of the steam engines, we hope the above points will help you understand our decision," Lages wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, diesel-hauled trains will continue to make the 65-mile run between Williams and the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The company operates vintage Montreal Locomotive Works units, four FPA4s and two FPBs built for Canadian National and later used by VIA Rail Canada, as well as three former Amtrak F40PHs built by EMD.
The source said despite the sad loss of the steam engines, he understands Xanterra's decision. "The real reason for this is purely business and economics," he said. "I can't fault that."
