Letter: Hopefully, steam will return

To the editor:

The Xanterra Parks and Resorts have daily environmental concerns at all of the National Parks they operate around the country; however, the clumsy excuse of discontinuing the use of steam engines to cart tourists to the Grand Canyon is mystifying.

According to their Web site, tourist travel to the 10 National Parks they operate was down 5 percent in 2006 to 18,000,000 visitors. Given the impact of higher fuel costs and other escalating expenses since then, it is not a stretch to conclude that tourist travel to the National Parks continues to decline.

It is reasonable to assume that perhaps the true reason to discontinue the steam engines on the Grand Canyon Railway is financial, not environmental as reported. Hopefully, Phil Anschutz buys the Grand Canyon Railway and reestablishes the utilization of the authentic old steam engines for the trek to the Grand Canyon.

Jim Crutchfield

Prescott, AZ