The Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona is one of the top tourist destinations in the United States with more than five million visitors each year. The historic Grand Canyon Railway dates back to 1901 and is the only company to offer rail tours to the Grand Canyon. The train departs daily from Williams, Arizona, and, in addition to on-board amenities, offers convenient rail service to the canyon's South Rim.
Originally built to transport ore from the nearby Anita mines, the Grand Canyon Railway was expanded to offer tourists a faster mode of travel to the Grand Canyon instead of by stagecoach. In 1901, the 65-mile track was completed, and the Grand Canyon Railway took its first journey to the canyon's South Rim. By the 1960s, automobile travel on the interstate highway system had become popular, and the railway was forced to stop its service in 1968 after a severe decline in ridership. In 1989, the railway was reopened and restored to its original condition with the financial support of investors. Today, more than 200,000 passengers ride the historic train each year.
The Grand Canyon Railway departs from the town of Williams, which is just off of Interstate 40 approximately 30 miles west of Flagstaff, Arizona. The train departs the historic Williams depot, which was built in 1908, and travels 65 miles north through a number of landscapes that include Ponderosa pine forests, open desert and a 1,500-foot vertical drop before climbing back up as it approaches the canyon. The northern terminus is the 1909 Grand Canyon depot, which is a two-story log and wood-framed structure conveniently located near the El Tovar Hotel and the major lookout points at the South Rim. The Grand Canyon Railway departs daily, weather permitting, and the trip takes approximately two hours and 15 minutes each way.
The Grand Canyon Railway utilizes a historic fleet of diesel engines and vintage passenger cars. The locomotives include one GP-7 built in 1953 by a division of the General Motors Corporation, and five FPA-4 engines, all built by the American Locomotive Company in 1959 and purchased by Grand Canyon Railway in the 1990s. The railway purchased three F-40PH locomotives in 2003, which were formerly used by Amtrak through the late 1990s. The railway also offers a number of restored, vintage passenger cars that include: Budd Coach and Pullman Coach cars; Bright Angel class; Buckley O'Neil class; Colorado River, a former 16-section sleeper built in 1948; Yavapai, Coconino and Kokopelli, which are dome coaches; Santa Fe; Chief; and the Max Biegert, a luxury parlor car. Each of the passenger cars are equipped with restrooms and staffed by an attendant.
The Grand Canyon Railway offers four classes of service on each train: coach class, which offers streamliner-era passenger cars with bench-style seating; first class with reclining seats, extra leg room, picture windows, fresh fruit, pastries, snacks and drinks; Observation Dome, with first-class amenities plus a glass-enclosed observation dome; and the Luxury Parlor Class, with first-class amenities plus lounge-style seating, a champagne toast, private bar and access to the open-air rear platform. Each journey includes strolling musicians and re-creations of a train robbery and shoot-out.
James Nalley is a full-time travel journalist whose work has been published in more than 100 magazines, journals and websites. He is also the Topic Editor and Feature Writer for the Latin America and Caribbean Travel section of a prominent website in Canada. Nalley holds a Doctor of Philosophy in music and literature from the University of Rochester.