alright, so if you can´t ride on top of the roof...is it worth the cost-time of taking the train or not?
any comments welcome

I would prefer doing something else.. the roof top was all the fun bout it!
but there is tones of things to do round Riobamba, good trkking, and bike trips... i am organizing a two day horseback ride trip round the volcanoe highlands of chimborazo and the the hot springs
if you are interested e mail me for info
darn! when was the roof-riding stopped? i just arrived in riobamba today and bought my train tickets when i arrived. $11 was actually a big chunk of change for us to take the train. i doubt we can return our tickets if it's not worth it... we're in a time-crunch to get to peru, so should we skip the train (eating the cost) and take the bus to cuenca?