Steam & Excursion > Cumbres and Toltec Commission meeting report 25-Apr-26

Sam Seiber has prepared his report of meeting items and the links below will go to his written report and the meeting video.
Highlights:
The Chama and Antonito shops are nearing the end of their winter locomotive and passenger car maintenance. Tentative plans are to have locomotives 487 and 489 [both now oil burners] out for opening day. 463 and 488 will be serviceable but will depend on fire condition as to when they start running them. 168 will have its annual done the beginning of summer in time for its first scheduled operating days at the end of July. 315 will be returning to the railroad at the end of May or beginning of June. #492, in Antonito, has had the Form 4 boiler calculations started. The FRA has been out for a visual inspection of the boiler with the tubes removed. Though originally planned to remain a coal burner, it will likely be converted to an oil burner as work continues. [#484 is in the shop for its 1472 day maintenance but no work is planned for this year.]  A full report on each locomotive is included in Sam's report.

Marketing types and locations have been revised for this season. The RR is moving away from low intent audiences, and moving to a high intent audience, meaning people ready to plan their trip or ready to book. The shift in strategy is showing up on the web site and channel performance. Ridership is up over 14%, revenue is up 11%. Major marketing has moved beyond just CO and NM and now includes Texas. Also AZ, CA, FL and IL E-Mail and social channels will continue to be used to connect with the existing audience. Again, details are provided in the report.

It has been a very dry winter season and fire concerns are on everyones mind. Communities on both sides of the RR are very concerned with the fire danger this season. They want the rain to come. The Chama mayor said that if there is water in the river, the city tanks will be full.  

An update and discussion on the Tracks Across Borders Byway (TABB) was given. This program promotes travel and tourism along the now-abandoned ROW between Chama and Durango. Road signage and a phone app are available to use as you travel.

The Friends have several sessions scheduled for both Chama and Antonito. Volunteer registration for this season is going great. This is the first time that registration has been entirely online. Manual registrations can still be done. It has worked out really well, even for those not all that great on the internet. The organization is looking for a new executive director and is interviewing candidtates.

Links:
Written report: http://train.sbseiber.com/CTM2026Apr25.html
Commission video: [YT link available from Sam's written report]
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/26 18:34 by Cumbresfan.

Thanks for keeping track of the C&TC activities.  Sounds like there is lots going on.

The Trails Byway sounds interesting, here's the state tourism link  https://www.newmexico.org/places-to-visit/scenic-byways/tracks-across-borders/

Here is the Byway's own link with many photographs https://tracksacrossborders.com/
 

Beautiful open country up there, remote and rarely traveled. Be sure to respect Native American locations on your trip.  

The volunteers who saved the portion of the RR that is now the C&TSRR were dedicated and persistent in their efforts. Today, more than 55 years later, our appreciation of what they did can not be measured. The Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR have produced a recollection of the years of the RR following it's founding [Stories of the Early Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad with Terry Ross & Ernie Robart, https://www.youtube.com/@friendsofctsrr ] , and a series entitled "A Heritage Worth Preserving" with photos and oral history of the last years of the Rio Grande Western. Check out the Friends YT channel for these and other videos.

Looks like it was smart that two locomotives were converted to oil burners as dry  as it is now .