(1) You left out the other entity in the Tennessee Pass circus.
(2) V&S / A&K are currently making a mess of things about 50 miles west of St. Louis that was already destroyed by a crooked game of keep-away played by SSW/SP/MP/UP at ATSF's expense.
(3) CDOT's ineptitude around railroads is well documented. Bus people / rubber-tired bubbas can't railroad and CDOT has never had a minimally qualified individual on staff since the 1960's. CDOT/CSHD's original Chief Engineer and founding leader is rolling over in his grave somewhere.
samfp1943 “It should never have happened,” states Stefan Soloviev, owner of the Colorado Pacific Railroad, in a recent interview. “It just doesn’t add up.”
He could be right. Maybe the state never should have bought the line in the first place. After all, we're 26 years from when the UP bought the SP and rendered the line surplus. Obviously, back in 1996, there wasn't a lot of online business or it would still be in service. And as for things not adding up, this batsh*t crazy notion of running grain from this area over Tennessee Pass pretty much casts a shadow over the railroading prowess of the Colorado Pacific team.
It really all doesn't add up.
--Mark Meyer
As noted on the preceeding "Colorado Pacific" Thread running on this Forum.
M.C. made the following statement [quoted]: "...This is a favorite tactic of A&K, using a subsidiary (V&S, SF&L, KCT etc) to gut a rail line and speed the way to abandonment and scrapping.They then disappear and emerge somewhere else. They ditch their responsibilities as landowners/custodians after abandonment and leave others to pick up the pieces. Bad corporate citizen for over 30 years..."
I had found this to be a somewhat prophetic statement, as some years previously; we were advised that an ICRR line was to be bought and'oerated' by 'rail salvors'(?);( V&S and AK) to name a couple. The specific trackage was the former ICRR [Hill Country Line in Mississippi] it was from Southaven, Ms. to Canton,Ms. A hilly, curvey line, it was the 'passenger route' for the 'Panama', City of No and other fast passenger train traffic. It was in fact, recently written about in this Forum; in regards to the famous 1940s Billups Railroad Death Crossing, on Ms. Hwy 7 north of Grenada, Ms. It was also the route that Casey Jones took on his last ride. In approx 2009 it was to become the Grenada RR, and to be 'run' by the consortium of 'rail salvors'.
M.C. warned us, as he recently did, in regards to this same group. It was in the article, I linked and posted (yep, it was 5 years previous.) It laid out a similar plan for the Colorado Pacific, and what they(A&K, et al.) seemed to have planned, as well.
The linked article as well, laid out what the then 'new' owner was planning. The 'choices' seemed to be no-brainers. It was to be at least a 'chance' for survival ? It was to link at Towner, Colo. with the current line, operaed by WATCO.CORP [nee: UPRR, as their K&O RR.] I felt that 2018 article was informative, as to the potentials and plans of the recent purchaser; [follows from the linked article]:
"... The state then turned around and sold the railroad—that they had bought to keep from being scrapped—to V&S Railroad, which promised to keep the railroad in service. However, V&S Railroad is a railroad scrap and salvage company..."
The article is nearly 5 years old. Since then, the biggest controversy around the Colorado Pacific is their wacko notion to run grain trains over Tennessee Pass and Soldier Summit to somewhere.
https://kiowacountyindependent.com/news/1974-scoular-crossroads-ag-ramp-up-already-strong-presence-in-southeastern-colorado-and-southwestern-kansas
This is from early 2021:
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/colorado-pacific-railroad-plans-to-persist-in-tennessee-pass-deal/
And then there's this one from 2022 where at least the operator of the Colorado Pacific seems to have acknowledged the reality that any grain traffic would be handed off to BNSF or UP at NA Jct. (east of Pueblo).
https://kiowacountyindependent.com/news/2648-behind-the-scenes-at-colorado-pacific-railroad
All in all, there's pretty much zero indication that any grain business has so far materialized. Apparently, the new locomotives are to handle car storage. This website again mentions a new grain shuttle facility near Sheridan Lake:
https://solovievgroup.com/divisions/agriculture
But I would think that if it was up and operating the Kiowa Independent (and others) would be all over it. The Kit Carson elevator owned by the Soloviev group and served by UP (according to that website) does not appear to be a shuttle faciility (there is one 24 miles east at Cheyenne Wells). Neither UP or BNSF are showing their railroads accessing any shuttle facilities on the Colorado Pacific.
All in all, it appears not a lot is really happening (still) on the Colorado Pacific. And probably every day is a slow news day at the Kiowa Independent.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.