Astorm is cleaned up and they can get their cargo underway to finish their westward trek. I've just sat down with a truck driver
"Excuse me sir I'm Ryan Douglas with KOA radio and you are..."
"Pete - Pete Taylor"
"I take it you are a trucker Pete?"
"That I am. 22 years, Hannibal MO to Denver CO."
"Well then Pete, if you drive from Missouri to Denver you probably aren't
waiting for the Mountains to open. You must be thrilled."
"Yes sir-EE I am. That mono-freight was the best thing that ever happened to this state."
"Do you mean the monorail through the mountains? I thought that was just for skiers and commuters to downtown."
"How long have you been here Ryan? That mono-freight line has saved my marriage, not to mention helped me find more work. Yeah the guy who came up with it - he's..."
Ryan kills the mike knowing he needs to get some more background before he can submit his story. He queries the trucker, "your right Pete I just got to town from Boston and this is my first assignment for KOA. I remember the talk about building the monorail but it was all travel guide filler, you know - Denver Airport to Vail in about and hour. I just thought the monorail was for people. Can you fill me in because I really would like to make a good first impression with the radio station. Pete orders a cup of coffee for Ryan and invites him to sit while he tells the tale of "Mono-freight Colorado".
"Back in 2001 there was a vote. A couple of guys out of Idaho Springs were trying to run a monorail from the airport to the slopes. They were asking the voters for $50 million to conduct a feasibility study. Hell they should have known it wasn't feasible to get the voters to give them 50mil for a few sheets of paper. They went down in a blaze of glory. You see they were pushing the elitist angle. Denver to Breckenridge or Vail or Aspen. In small print they mentioned commuters from the mountains to Downtown Denver. They didn't have much vision. The idea was a good one just too small. A few months later a group of investors started looking at the idea with a broader horizon."
Ryan had to stop Pete here and ask him if he was really a trucker. Ryan had the unfounded impression that truckers were an illiterate snaggle-tooth lot of speed freaks just interested in where the next smoky or beaver was coming from. "Pete have you always been a trucker" Ryan asked? "I'm very curious how you know so much about this 'Mono-freight' system", and I don't mean to discount you but I never thought a truck driver would use an expression like 'broader horizon'."
Pete burst out with a belly laugh and almost knocked the waitress over as she served Ryan's coffee. "You probably think most truckers are a rowdy, toothless, beer swilling, beaver chasing lot - and yes there are those lonely independents that lend credence to the reputation. Most of us are family men just trying to carve out a living. The money on the road is as good or better then a lot of mid-level management jobs but as for me I just can't be cooped up in an office." Ryan confirmed Pete's comments and asked again how he knew so much about 'mono-freight'. Pete continued.
"Well as I said the first push for a monorail failed miserably but when this second group came in they were talking about running freight from Denver clear to Grand Junction. The thought was to build a fleet of boxcar type containers that would glide without effort through the 'Rockys' carrying all sorts of dry goods. These container cars would share the monorail with passenger cars just as cars and trucks share the road, or freight trains and Amtrak share the rails. When all this hype came out I though we were talking Disneyland Magic Kingdom time. Truth is any place else this idea would not get past a drunken salesman but Denver is the hub for all points from the mid-west to the west coast and back again. Here monorail makes sense. It was the third time I had missed my second son's birthday when I decided I wanted to listen to what these jokers had to say. I was on my way to Seattle and was approached in this very same coffee shop to join a committee of Interstate 70 regular users or travelers". Pete gestured with a nod of his head. "I was sitting over in that corner with Mack Jackson. We both joined - called us the I-70 regulars. Our job was to get information on our trips and come to an update meeting when we were in town. That's where I learned to appreciate that 'beautiful cement serpent'. That's what Mack called it."
Ryan asked for a warm up of his coffee and a plate of hash browns and eggs. He turned the page of the note pad he had started writing and asked Pete what the plan was back then and what the reality was now.
Pete continued. "At first the plan was to build a monorail starting at Denver's airport with spurs and connections to all the truck lines that traveled through the Mountains and run it to Grand Junction, just outside of Utah. That keeps it interstate and easier for the bureaucrats to manage. You see it takes a full load truck 5 to 6 hours to run that I-70 route; a double hauler takes about an hour longer. That is as long as the truck runs OK, brakes stay cool, no accidents that kind of thing. These cargo monorail cars usually run close to 200 mph. Shoot - you can send 2 of them there and back in the time I make 1 trip. Days like today... forget it. Freight moves faster cheaper and in the 2 years the system has been up road accidents are way down. How are those eggs Ryan? You know your should order some biscuits and gravy with that. Mmmm."
"OK I will have some Biscuits and gravy, thanks. Pete, do you know any numbers or statistics on how the mono-freight line has helped? This could be a very interesting piece."
"Well Ryan I know they estimated about 2-thousand trucks a day were going through there at a cost of about $145 per trip. That's $2900 a day and about $850k a year. The monorail-freight system does the same job in 1/4 the time for less then 1/5 the price.
That alone was attractive but not quite enough to put the plan in motion. The state helped out in construction and right of way because it created several jobs at the end of the line terminals and cargo car operator jobs. It also helped to make the downtown commuter and holiday skier monorail become a reality."
Ryan still amazed at the knowledge this trucker had about mankind's electric marvel. "So cost savings, jobs and shared track made this 'mono-freight' thing fly?" Ryan asked as he finished his breakfast and jotted another note.
Pete took a deep breath and sighed a heavy sigh. He peered at the booth where he and Mack Jackson first talked about the mono-freight concept. He shielded his eyes as the sun broke the eastern plane and brightened up the whole diner. Pete looked at Ryan and asked him not to write this down just look it up when he got back to the radio station.
"This world is made up of people who won't do a damn thing positive unless something tragic happens and they are inconvenienced. It was just after my first meeting of the I-70 regulars. I was heading home and Mack was going to Salt Lake with a load of late season Colorado produce. We sat at the meeting taking in what we could and had dinner together that night. I may not have told you before but Mack got me into trucking, he was my daughters Godfather."
Ryan broke in. "Was...?"
Pete continued deliberately. "After that meal I headed home to Hannibal. Mack wanted to get through the rough part of the mountains before the first fall snow hit. He made it past Idaho Springs and Georgetown all right but just as he got to Summit County the snow hit. It was heavy and the wind was blowing 80 per. Dark had set in but he knew there was a hotel a couple of a mile up. Mack never made those miles. I was on the CB with him when it happened. A fuel tanker had jack-knifed up ahead. Mack rode the clutch and broke hard and just missed the tanker. We were laughing in relief as he told me he really needed to change his pants now. The next second a cattle truck side swiped him and turned him over. It crashed into the tanker and the tanker exploded. All the drivers were killed. Several drivers of cars in the area were burned. Some died. The local water supply was contaminated for a while buy leaking diesel fuel."
Ryan broke in once more... I remember hearing about that in Boston. They said it was one of the most deadly and costly accidents in the history of Colorado."
"Yes it was. They had the whole interstate shut down for over 2 days. I went to the funeral and swore that I would never for get Mack. I quit driving for a while after that. Spent time at home, thought about opening up a Starbucks, but I'm just not a latte man. One afternoon that next spring the I-70 regulars contacted me and asked me to help with the cause. I almost hung up the phone. But a very sweet and persuasive woman named Mary told me that because of the accident momentum was building to get the voters to pass the monorail system. This time it was because they wanted to make that stretch safer for everyone. Financial speculators had already poured several million dollars into the mono-freight plan hoping to 'cash in' when the vote passed. I was a bit reluctant but I gave it a shot. I went to "Dick Simon's Office in Independence and told then about the plan.
They were well aware of it and asked me to drive for them and spread the word on their behalf. I signed on with the "Skunk" and told everyone I saw - "I-70's going Disney!"
Every time I stopped at a truck stop or met someone for fuel along the Rocky Mountain route I passed out paper work. I went to voter’s rallies when I could. I even took the north/south route to Albuquerque for a spell to get the southern Colorado voters on board. I could go on but my passion for the new mono-freight idea, even though fueled by my memories of Mack almost became a religion. My wife supported me as long as it was over come election day. Wow that was 4 1/2 years ago and here I am talking to a reporter from KOA... again.
Ryan pulled out his pad and started taking notes once more as he asked about the first KOA reporter Pete had mentioned. "Pete tell me about that other interview."
"Well there was a fellow back then looking for a story about truckers stalled, just waiting for the thaw. Much like your assignment today. Then - I was stalled. I was knee-deep in anger and frustration and I was not a very good interview because it showed. I hope I have been a little more receptive to you this morning. This morning I'm taking my load to the terminal, grabbing another trailer and heading home."
Ryan turned his recording equipment on a second time this time to record a man - not angry and frustrated with the elements - this time a man who helped conquer the elements for his own good and the good of a nation.
"It's mid-rush hour this frosty February Monday and I'm Ryan Douglas with KOA Radio. We are live at the Union 76 truck stop...
