Directors Background
Jimmy Booth - President
Jimmy Booth is a principal owner of P-B-L, a major supplier of Sn3 locomotives and equipment. He is a leading historian on D&RGW narrow gauge history and has served as advisor to several museums. He serves on the board of several railroad related foundations and is involved in multiple restoration projects. Jimmy models in several gauges and has built a live steam 2 ½” scale model of #223 based on many trips to measure the original.
Ray Bjerrum - Treasurer
Ray Bjerrum now retired after an extensive career in the window manufacturing industry. He was one of the founder of the C16 Society. With his wife, they have a 2 ½” scale 7 ½” gauge railroad near Fresno which includes 3 steam locomotives. Trains, especially narrow gauge, are his passion since he was 2 years old.
Jeff Taylor - Secretary
Jeff Taylor has been involved in narrow gauge railroading/preservation since 2007 when he was hired as an engineer/fireman at Knott’s Berry Farm. There he helped operate and maintain their roster of Denver & Rio Grande Western and Rio Grande Southern narrow-gauge equipment including two C-19 class 2-8-0s. He also was heavily involved in the restoration and later operation of Southern Pacific narrow-gauge locomotive 18. In 2015 he was hired by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to work in the car shop maintaining their large fleet of passenger cars. In September of 2015 he was elected to the board with the Galloping Goose Historical Society. In late 2016 he was hired for his current position as Curator of Equipment & Rollingstock at the Colorado Railroad Museum. There he is charged with maintaining the museum’s collection of historic rollingstock and stable of 3 operational steam locomotives, D&RGW k-37 491, D&RGW C-19 346, and RGS T-19 20.
Marc LaChey - Director
Marc LaChey of Richardson, Texas, before his retirement in 2019, worked for forty-two years in the property and casualty segment of the insurance industry. Marc worked as an adjuster, supervisor for insurers and later served as a claim consultant for brokerage firms serving corporate clients. Following his retirement, Marc served as a member of the risk management committee at his Church, serving as chair of the committee for two years.
Marc’s introduction to the narrow-gauge railroads of Colorado occurred in 1978, when he rode the Denver & Rio Grande railroad from Durango to Silverton, Colorado. In the late 1980s, his interests turned to model railroading. Marc narrowed his model railroading interests by transitioning to Sn3 around 1998. He has earned his Master Model Railroader designation from the National Model Road Association(NMRA). He has served on the board of the Lone Star Region, NMRA and chaired the 2013 and 2021 regional conventions. Currently, Marc serves as the President of the North Texas Narrow Gauge Group and as Vice President of the North Texas Council of Railroad Clubs.
Combining his interest in history with model railroading, Marc is a long-time member of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad where he has volunteered as a Docent for several years following retirement. He is also a member of the Durango Railroad Historical Society, the Ridgway Railroad Museum and the Colorado Railroad Museum. Currently, Marc serves on the organizing committee for Off the Beaten Track, a monthly on-line program promoting narrow gauge modeling and historical groups.
Marc is a 1977 graduate of Baylor University. He is married to Debbie and has two daughters and one granddaughter.
John Bush - Director
​John Bush is the retired President and General Manager of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Accepted his position on January 2013 and retired in November of 2020.
John became interested in railroads and steam engines as a young child. Specifically, in Telluride Colo and got exposed to the Rio Grande Southern in its last years of operation. When the railroad was abandoned in November of 1951 and scrapped it became a lifelong mission to see that these remnants and reminders of Rocky Mountain history be preserved, maintained, restored, interpreted, and operated.
After a serious accident John gave up his pursuit of a PhD in Anthropology and started working in historic railroading. First with the Georgetown Loop Railroad, them from 1989 through the Spring 1996 while John was Chief Mechanical Officer and Assistant General Manager at the C&TS RR. He accomplished increasing the operational steam locomotive fleet from three to six, helping design and build new passenger cars and rebuilding and operating a rotary snowplow.
His wife and children accompanied him to Alaska to be Superintendent of Operations for the White Pass & Yukon for six years. They then moved to California in 2002 where John served as Manager of Railroads for the Roaring Camp & Big Trees and the Santa Cruz & Big Trees & Pacific for 10 years.
John cosmetically restored D&RG #168. Manitou & Peaks #2, C&Z #12, C&S #71, and was part of a team for AT&SF #132, also restoring Denver Northwestern & Pacific private car MARCIA that was built for David Moffat.
Once becoming President of the C&TS and working with the C&TSRR Commission they secured a long term lease of D&RG #168 from Colorado Springs. John was instrumental in raising the funding and hiring Stathi Pappas to lead the physical restoration of #168 to operating condition.
John have been a member of TRAIN, a Board member past Vice President and past President and currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Colorado Railroad Museum, also President of the Tracks Across Borders Byway.
John has been involved with the effort to preserve and return to service D&RGW locomotive #223 since 1986. In this capacity he organized an inventory and condition report for 223, also arranged and managed the moving of its parts to safe storage while plans were finalized for return to operating condition.
John’s long-term goals are to increase the general public’s awareness of and interest in railroads, historic and modern.