Hi,
It have not to be necessarily boring... but you have to put something to urge the players or press them in some way.
I think the token approach from .45 could be what you want. I did a similar scenario in the first one of the campaign "return to the valley...: Benito revenge" that you can view in this forum (and that today I have finish to translate). The players have to search for a person. I ruled it so they have to find three different tokens to find him at the same scenario (because if you put only one, it is possible to find it in the first token). At the same time, if there is not going to be fighting, you have to press them. For exemple, you can tell them that they have to find the clues before the train departs (and you can have a card deck to do the countback), and the rest of tokens can be events that delay them, or so...
One think I have seen that makes the scenario work is if you change the gamerules in the middle of the scenario. For exemple, they do not know that the train is going to depart and they know it when someone tells them (an token even, and then start the countback). It is perfect to break their planned strategy and press them. In the campaign "Return.." you can see some exemples of it. In the four scenario, for exemple, that they had to find an ancient idol to open the door while fighting the zombies, they found in the middle of the scenario that the open gate only last for three turns (so, the players with the pcs tart to run to the gate to be close, and later an event make that Benito and a child were taken by a pteradon, and taken to their nest in the far corner. The players that were running to the gate now have to decide if continue or come backk to rescue them with the risk to be themselves trapped in the valley).
Hope this helps...