Creede Colorado won an 8 year fight to prevent Donald Shank and his Wagon Wheel Gap Route railroad from reviving the 117 year old right-of-way with a historic steam train. The final blow came when the state DOT granted Creede's application for Adverse Abandonment.
From the Monte Vista Journal article,
Congratulations and stay away"To the several opponents that carried on an eight-year-long fight, congratulations. You brought in a very formidable opponent in Ron Johnson, from the D.C. law firm of Akin-Gump," Shank wrote. "I hope some day that you come to realize what you were so anxious to throw away. I ask you to please stay away from the railroad yard during salvage operations and let us go about our business with dignity. ""To the numerous supporters and friends of the railroad, I invite you to stop by and say goodbye to your history. The rails have been there longer than anyone alive in Mineral County-117 years. I'm certain that for some, this will be a sad day. For me, it's practically inexplicable."Thank youHe thanked his family, friends, volunteers and supporters for their "endless love and support" and apologized for the time lost. "To the Union Pacific Railroad, a special thank you for your heartfelt courtesy and consideration. To Tom McFarland, our attorney since the beginning, a very special thank you."
More information (and opinion) on my blog, Colorado Railroads.
Steve
Steve WaldenEditor, Colorado Railroads
(1) You are talking about 1 mile on the west end of a 21 mile rail line. They are not "gone". UP has been unfairly dragged through the mud on this. (See AB-1014_0 over on the STB website)
(2) Creede and their attorneys are now used as a classic lesson in how not to use the adverse abandonment process. (They wasted a huge chunk of public money on this and hired a lawyer that could be disbarred for sheer professional stupidity.On almost all of the motions, STB ruled in Shank's favor - failure to resume rail service became the kicker. Coulda and shoulda don't work here and the color of title issue was almost ignored by both sides until late.)
(3) Shanks was his own worst enemy here. Ed Ellis showed up a white-night far too late and could not undo Shank's mistakes.
(4) The state did not abandon the line, they are only the underlying senior landowner. The STB abandoned the line. Shanks could not produce a rail shipper on the line (dormant since 1969) and STB's public obligation is to protect commerce (freight rail and passenger rail operations). They protect commerce and the public's interest, not somebody's pipedream. The one mile portion to be removed comes out of Sections 25 and 36 originally owned by the State Land Board and has been subject to rules there since day 1.
(5) The city will have to sink additional funds in their endeavor to comply with CRS 43-1-1311 (Home Rule does not exempt them)
When this decision was handed down in June, I posted the following on another board. Offered for your information is this:
********************************************
My brother is a resident of Creede Colorado, so I naturally sought him out for his opinion when the news of the STB ruling came down. Below are his thoughts on the matter.
Regards,Burlington John
Let me clear up a few misconceptions about the abandonment suit filed by the City of Creede against the D&RGHF for the one mile of track within the city limits.
First, I would like to state that I love train travel, having traveled across the US and in as many as ten countries in Europe and Asia. Most of the citizens in Creede who wrote letters in favor of the abandonment are not against trains. They merely wanted to control the line within the city limits of a small town.
The head of the Foundation (which had its charitable status revoked by the state in 2004 for failing to report financial information), came to town in 1999-2000, bullying people by sending out invoices to residents and businesses for encroaching on the RR ROW, and saying he could take over the historic depot, which had just been restored with State Historic Funds. Being a bully isn't against the law, but it won't win any love or favors in a town of 470 people. The owner is a walking PR nightmare.
The fact is, the line is in disrepair, requiring (as determined by the Union Pacific who sold the line to D&RGHF) about $1 million per mile to bring the line and bridges up to Class 1 status. He has owned the line for 8 years and has done little, except try to raise money and run speeders on the line. Last fall, when it became known that the city had secured the pro bono services of a RR attorney (who represents the Union Pacific, among others), they stepped up work on track and ties, forced the state to rehabilitate a crossing, at about a cost of $80K to Colorado taxpayers. Then they started tearing the streets in two locations to uncover the track, which had been covered for more than 20 years.
The uses for the land along the ROW could include (as FBFTEAM writes) parking, possible housing and expansion of the town's only grocery store. In addition, the track runs through town in a north to south direction (there are only 3 north-south streets - I said it was a small town!) and ended up going past the depot and up an alley west of Main St. that is about 15 feet wide. None of the business owners (of which I am one) along that section of Main St wanted a diesel or steam engine idling at their back door while the tourist were "buying their t-shirts".
And FBFTEAM is right, the train would not have turned the town into another Silverton or Durango. Who would pay $60 to ride a train at 15 MPH on tracks that parallel the state highway that runs from South Fork to Creede? Hell, two of the finest narrow gauge RRs anywhere, Cumbres-Toltec and Durango-Silverton, barely stay afloat financially and they travel through country that you can't see any other way than by train.
The comment "elitists to the max" is a little annoying. There is a realtor office, a bar, an art gallery, our cafe, the bank, the hardware store and another gallery being affected by the Main St./alley situation. Hardly the stuff of elitist millionaires - just working people.
Lastly, this does not mean that the D&RGHF cannot bring a train to Creede. It just means that the train will stop on the edge of town. But, barring a Powerball win, it will be a cold day in hell when this bunch raises the $21 million to make even that possible. I hope this sheds some light on the situation.
A story about the ruling in the Alamosa newspaper is available by clicking on the following link. It pretty much sums up the STB ruling.
http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=&story_id=7636
THE site for American Freedom Train fans http://www.freedomtrain.org
The comparison to DSNG and C&TS is interesting-in your posting and in the relevant newspaper articles much is made about the lack of freight or passenger traffic-but this would be a TOURIST line. There's no freight traffic between Durango & Silverton and I don't think anyone rides it to commute from Silverton to Durango. You can certainly drive between these 2 points much faster than the train (or Chama & Antonito for that matter). People will ride the train for a scenic train ride regardless of the time factor. Colorado is full of tourist trains that operate successfully (some more than others) but most are at leat partially paralleled by highways. I don't see any reason this line couldn't have been a success also, but we'll never know now.
Thechief66 wrote: The comparison to DSNG and C&TS is interesting-in your posting and in the relevant newspaper articles much is made about the lack of freight or passenger traffic-but this would be a TOURIST line. There's no freight traffic between Durango & Silverton and I don't think anyone rides it to commute from Silverton to Durango. You can certainly drive between these 2 points much faster than the train (or Chama & Antonito for that matter). People will ride the train for a scenic train ride regardless of the time factor. Colorado is full of tourist trains that operate successfully (some more than others) but most are at leat partially paralleled by highways. I don't see any reason this line couldn't have been a success also, but we'll never know now.
I'll be visiting Creede in two weeks. Travel west (Fort Madison to Trinidad) will be courtesy of Amtrak's Southwest Chief with my 81 year old dad. As my brother (and Creede resident noted), there is absolutely nothing stopping an operator from going to the city limits of Creede and, perhaps, negotiating with the city for further travel into the city.
Wow, A restaurant that doesn't want a smelly old steam engine parked next to it. What an opportunity that would be to attract people, especially people who arrived on the train, to come in for lunch!
I have no idea about Don's PR ability, but this was a major opportunity for the town and a big loss for historic preservation. I think they should have welcomed Don and his railroad. As it is, he has been very badly treated indeed.
gbrewer
BurlingtonJohn wrote: When this decision was handed down in June, I posted the following on another board. Offered for your information is this:********************************************My brother is a resident of Creede Colorado, so I naturally sought him out for his opinion when the news of the STB ruling came down. Below are his thoughts on the matter.Regards,Burlington John********************************************Let me clear up a few misconceptions about the abandonment suit filed by the City of Creede against the D&RGHF for the one mile of track within the city limits. First, I would like to state that I love train travel, having traveled across the US and in as many as ten countries in Europe and Asia. Most of the citizens in Creede who wrote letters in favor of the abandonment are not against trains. They merely wanted to control the line within the city limits of a small town. The head of the Foundation (which had its charitable status revoked by the state in 2004 for failing to report financial information), came to town in 1999-2000, bullying people by sending out invoices to residents and businesses for encroaching on the RR ROW, and saying he could take over the historic depot, which had just been restored with State Historic Funds. Being a bully isn't against the law, but it won't win any love or favors in a town of 470 people. The owner is a walking PR nightmare. The fact is, the line is in disrepair, requiring (as determined by the Union Pacific who sold the line to D&RGHF) about $1 million per mile to bring the line and bridges up to Class 1 status. He has owned the line for 8 years and has done little, except try to raise money and run speeders on the line. Last fall, when it became known that the city had secured the pro bono services of a RR attorney (who represents the Union Pacific, among others), they stepped up work on track and ties, forced the state to rehabilitate a crossing, at about a cost of $80K to Colorado taxpayers. Then they started tearing the streets in two locations to uncover the track, which had been covered for more than 20 years. The uses for the land along the ROW could include (as FBFTEAM writes) parking, possible housing and expansion of the town's only grocery store. In addition, the track runs through town in a north to south direction (there are only 3 north-south streets - I said it was a small town!) and ended up going past the depot and up an alley west of Main St. that is about 15 feet wide. None of the business owners (of which I am one) along that section of Main St wanted a diesel or steam engine idling at their back door while the tourist were "buying their t-shirts". And FBFTEAM is right, the train would not have turned the town into another Silverton or Durango. Who would pay $60 to ride a train at 15 MPH on tracks that parallel the state highway that runs from South Fork to Creede? Hell, two of the finest narrow gauge RRs anywhere, Cumbres-Toltec and Durango-Silverton, barely stay afloat financially and they travel through country that you can't see any other way than by train. The comment "elitists to the max" is a little annoying. There is a realtor office, a bar, an art gallery, our cafe, the bank, the hardware store and another gallery being affected by the Main St./alley situation. Hardly the stuff of elitist millionaires - just working people. Lastly, this does not mean that the D&RGHF cannot bring a train to Creede. It just means that the train will stop on the edge of town. But, barring a Powerball win, it will be a cold day in hell when this bunch raises the $21 million to make even that possible. I hope this sheds some light on the situation.A story about the ruling in the Alamosa newspaper is available by clicking on the following link. It pretty much sums up the STB ruling.http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=&story_id=7636
I have to admit I'm rather incredulous by this attitiude, turning down a potential profit margin booster for some fairly short sighted reasons? I wonder what percentage of yearly profits of small business owners in Williams AZ., Cumbres, NM, Antonio NM, and Silverton CO is due to "diesel or steam engine idling at their back door while the tourist were "buying their t-shirts". "
Wouldn't those T-shirts would be putting extra dollars into the authors own pocket on top of whatever else he's selling? If the D&RGW had abandoned the Silverton route back in the 60's I doubt if the town of Silverton would even exist today, it would certainly be much deminished. Pretty short sighted IMHO. I hope they build it, right up to the city limits, then deny every business owner in the town the right to sell licensed merchandise. Serve'em right.
Have fun with your trains
OK I did some online research on Creede CO, Holy Guacamole, this town is lucky to even EXIST today. In 2000 the population was only 377, and its the ONLY incorporated town in its entire county, sheesh its a dinky little town in the middle of freakin nowhere.
The area around Creede IS spectacular, the town certainly looks charming, I'd love to visit it, so you'de think they'de have jumped thru hoops at the chance for a potential tourist money draw like this. Alot of tourist would make the pilgramige to ride the trains, just like they do in Georgetown which is also next to a highway and no one seams to be put off by that, and especially if the scenery is spectacular, but from what I can see other than is quantness and spectacular scenery, theres really no reason outside a few visiting outdoors tourist, for this town to even exist. Theres really not a lot to draw my attention to get me to pull over stay there for a day or two. At least not inside the town itself. The nearest ski area (not a resort, an area) is 45 miles away! So I have to admit I'm even more shocked and incredulous at the towns short sighted attitude, too much isolation I suppose.
Downtown Creede, minus tourist
vsmith,
I couldn't agree more.
What Creede has to offer is a pertty nice setting and some very fascinating history. The current residents don't seem to value the latter at all.
gbrewer wrote: vsmith,I couldn't agree more. What Creede has to offer is a pertty nice setting and some very fascinating history. The current residents don't seem to value the latter at all.
In conversations with my brother, I think it is safe to say that the town values both. I think that the total jerk attitude of the owner is what got the townspeople up in arms. The town simply wanted to control what was in the city limits. There is nothing that would prevent a potential operator from running trains to Creede.
Regards,
Burlington John
Burlington John,
Based on your post, it is my understanding that Mr. Shank was rejected as a personal vendetta by the townspeople, and that contrary to the title of this thread, not only did Mr. Shank and all the rest of us lose, but the town of Creede did so as well.
A sad day indeed.
From the above articles it seems that Mr.Shank used the wrong approach with this small town.
This could have been different.Any of you that have lived in small towns know that an outsider that tries to push too hard will have nothing but trouble.
Too bad.
Creede is currently courting a mining company to come in and revive the mining industry in what could be also called a revival of the pollution that has resulted in the Super Fund pollution site just outside of town. Mining dollars come and sometimes go as quickly as they come. Leadville's molebdinum mine is a current example. Train tourism is a clean way of bringing in dollars by compairison. Much of Creede is also supporting the efforts of a Texas Billionaire in developing the Village at Wolf Creek, a megopolis ski village in a pristine montane area that was once public land and is subject yearly to 400-500 inches of snow a year. I find it ironic that it is o.k. to dramatically alter the water, soils, and natural habitat at the other end of the county, but it is not o.k. to run a train into town. There are probably 450 different ways each individule plans to use and to continue to use the railroad right-of-way through town. The San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad that presently runs passenger service to Monte Vista,CO is entertaining the idea of stretching it out to South Fork (21 miles away) once the spine cars have been moved off the tracks. (South Fork Times Newspaper) As to the effect of riding the rails next to a highway, most do and most are still running.
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