Unless such restoration would be considered an act of passion or a
gift of love, probably the very biggest obstacle preventing restored
operation of the articulated Zephyrs (i.e. the MARK TWAIN, or its
near twin the B&M FLYING YANKEE) is the inherent inability of these
small trains to carry sufficient numbers of paying passengers to pay
the bills. <end quote>
Denny -
These two trains are actually better off in terms of passenger loading than one
might expect. The "Yankee" had a 24-seat coach-dinette section in the power
car, making total seating of 140 (IIRC) - The Mark Twain's original seating
configuration was 92 seats, but the present consist includes Car 500 from the
PZ, bringing the total to 132 seats. MTZ could then be run in either of two
four-car configurations (500 or baggage "Becky Thatcher", or all five cars . .
. assuming that a fan trip schedule would not require 90mph bursts.
If "Becky Thatcher" were configured for baggage car riders (photos/sound
recording/video tape - plus a beer bar, mayhap), another 20-30 could probably
be accomodated - that would put you near 150.
What would ticket prices have to be at that rate?
Marshall
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