down and leave the railroad closed for days at a time during peak tourist season. At its lowest point, annual Loop ridership under Railstar fell from 130,000 riders per year to 51,000 riders per year. This left both local businesses and railroad enthusiasts very displeased with the state of the railroad. A particular incident that helped shape the unfavorable perception of the Railstar operation occurred in 2006, when an attempt was made to restore Colorado and Southern Railway steam locomotive #9 to operation on the Loop. The restoration was successful, but Railstar managed the operation of the small locomotive so poorly (mainly by forcing it to pull longer and heavier trains than it was designed for) that they severely damaged the locomotive and rendered it inoperable after less than one summer season. This resulted in #9 being sent back to static display, unlikely to ever run again. In 2009, the Colorado Historical Society decided to terminate the contract with Railstar and award the remaining time to a new operator, run by a local Georgetown businessman. He founded a new company to handle the operations called Historic Rail Adventures LLC, which still operates the Georgetown Loop today. Operations and public relations under HRA have improved greatly, including the return of three operational steam engines and increased reliability and ridership. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Clear Creek County, Colorado List of Colorado historic railroads List of heritage railroads in the United States References External links Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park, Historical information site Georgetown Loop Railroad, Tourism site Railway lines opened in 1884 Heritage railroads in Colorado 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Narrow gauge railroads in Colorado Railroad museums in Colorado Transportation in Clear Creek County, Colorado Colorado Mining Boom National Register of Historic Places in Clear Creek County, Colorado Mining museums in Colorado History Colorado Museums in Clear Creek County, Colorado Railway lines on the National Register of Historic Places Rail infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado