The shop crew, or outsourced vendor, will perform all the work that is needed and I would assume if welding is needed, GCR Steam Mechanic is simply stating they no longer have someone in house to do it.

It's a shame that Xanterra elected to initially end all steam operations at the Grand Canyon, but they are a business and unlike the government, they are in it for the sustainability, aka, profit.

The good news is that there was apparently demand and likely some profit to be had, whether it's in direct ticket sales or indirect excitement generated by keeping the program around.
The bad news was how difficult a time we had selling the charter! Everyone complained that the Grand Canyon was dropping it's program yet few were banging on the door to attend. Now, it's true, the charter was pricey, but how many of those who clamored about the shortened schedule have actually ventured up to patronize the line when steam was /is running? It's all about demand - make your actions count or trust that the general public will alone. The more demand, the more steam you can expect to see. Hopefully, time permitting, we (or someone else) will be able to sponsor another charter in the future.

September 17th, 2011 - to the Canyon!

/Mitch