Brian,
As a railroader, and a big fan of commercial aviation (and a steady WN customer), I was delighted to read your blog of your grand rail adventure. Throughout my career at Amtrak and aother rail jobs, I've always been aware that airline people can be big railfans, particularly pilots. (Wouldn't it have been great to check out the 1929 PRR-TAT-AT&SF transcontinental operation?)
At any rate, along with several other "retired" railroaders, I'm now a part of the nonprofit management company which runs the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in the far north of your home state (I'm the Treasurer). Maybe you've had a chance to ride us? I think this railroad is, hands down, the most authentic steam property in this country. Right now it's particularly nice up here with the aspens reaching their peak. The passenger trains are full, and this weekend we're operating a double-headed freight up the 4% grade to 10,015' Cumbres Pass.
I'm wondering if Southwest might be able to help us? We hire our passenger service people (train crews, station and reservation people, etc.) overwhelmingly from the local area. Rio Arriba County is not a wealthy place, and we supply good jobs. But given our resources, providing first-rate customer service training is a challenge for us. Through a mutual acquaintance, your station chief in ABQ offered to help once, but time constraints got in the way. If you think there might be anything Southwest could do to assist us with our customer service, reservation and ticketing training programs prior to the startup of sour operating season next spring, I'd love to hear from you. And if you'd like to take a look at the railroad, please let me know!
Regards
Richard Tower
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