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Re: Grand Canyon Steam closing reason - From Trains Magazine
Author: Rich Hunn
Date: 09-17-2008 - 15:10
As one of the people who has said that Dick runs a first class operation I totally agree with him,
he runs on track that a Class 1 would have abandoned years ago. And as a result of that he's seeing traffic increase because the rails still exist. What's that got to do with the Grand Canyon? Nothing today, but the truth of what attracts people will materialize itself shortly, those people who come to ride behind steam will go back to driving to the rim. Another percentage
will do the same because the novelty is gone, the rest will analyze the cost and make a decision
but bear in mind that it's a pretty expensive way for a day trip to the canyon rim. I can see that
keeping a steam crew just in place for weekend trips wouldn't do much to cut costs but I do think
that in the end this is going to be a short sighted move.
he runs on track that a Class 1 would have abandoned years ago. And as a result of that he's seeing traffic increase because the rails still exist. What's that got to do with the Grand Canyon? Nothing today, but the truth of what attracts people will materialize itself shortly, those people who come to ride behind steam will go back to driving to the rim. Another percentage
will do the same because the novelty is gone, the rest will analyze the cost and make a decision
but bear in mind that it's a pretty expensive way for a day trip to the canyon rim. I can see that
keeping a steam crew just in place for weekend trips wouldn't do much to cut costs but I do think
that in the end this is going to be a short sighted move.
