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OPINION
The railroad used to operate on timetables. Up on Pike’s Peak we still do, and it is important. Things can, and do go wrong. Little things like people who do not make it back to the train on time are sometimes shocked to find the train has gone! It is sometimes at the Manitou station that trains are held up for groups in buses who get delayed, but even they sometimes get left. Trains sometimes meet with difficulty on the mountain like storms, or rocks on the track. Rarely is a train more than a few minutes off the schedule. One train causes the next to be late, and this rarely gets caught up. My favorite is from a trip to England years ago. I was visiting during the Easter Holidays. During that time the schools are out for a week, and many summer operations open early. I happened to visit a little steam railway on the Sunday at the end of the holiday. It was a round trip to a little village in the country. We reached the village and I noticed the crew seemed a bit excited. The train left a bit late, but this was the last run of the day. After a few minutes the train stopped, but after a short stop it went on. The train wend a few minutes and stopped AGAIN. After a long stop we took off again. I found the train’s conductor and asked of the difficulty, but was not answered. A few minutes later we were again stopped. What was the problem? After another chat, and a bit of explanation, I was told the train had run out of coal! They had used more than was expected and had searched out dry wood here and there along the tracks. When that ran out, they tried to find some more. The supply finally ran out. A radio call was sent out, and a diesel was sent out to rescue us. With a bit of a laugh the crew arrived and pulled us in. We all received free passes for a future visit as we left the train. I still have mine, which might not be honored after four or five years. I thought it was great fun. I even rode an Amtrak train to California about fifteen years ago that took TWICE the scheduled time to get to Los Angeles. I thought it was fun, but not every one did. I do not mind riding on trains, even if it goes slow. On that trip we even ate all the food in the diner. What did they do? They called KFC!
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