Route 66 in the News
Grand Canyon Railway a Link to the Past
2005-06-12 17:30:06
"All aboard!" called the conductor, his shout echoing the length of the platform at the old train depot in Williams, Ariz. Hurried along by the blast of the train whistle, passengers clamber up the steel steps for a ride back in time.
Destination? Sixty-five miles to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The lulling motion of the rails is punctuated by Wild West adventure and entertainment during the two-hour and 15-minute ride.
The Grand Canyon Railway is no modern-day bullet train. Pulled by vintage diesel or steam engines is a mix of passenger cars from the past century. Coupled together are restored 1923 Harriman-style Pullman cars, a 1952 café car and 1950s first-class cars with opulent red velvet-covered seats or glass-enclosed domes offering panoramic views.
There's the 1947 "Chief" car, admired for its open rear platform, and a club class car with a mahogany bar.
"The ride of another lifetime" is a description offered by railroad buffs, who come from as far as Europe and Australia to ride the rails and experience a bit of Old West history.
It all begins every morning at the old depot in Williams, just shy of a century old and home to the Grand Canyon Railway.
Passenger rail service from Williams to the Grand Canyon's South Rim was re-established in 1989 after a 21-year hiatus. Today, more than 1,500 passengers can make the daily ride through ponderosa pine forest and high desert plains to disembark at one of the world's great natural wonders.
The first— and only— stop is the Grand Canyon Depot, a National Historic Landmark along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a chasm with a few years of geologic history under its belt, too. Make that about 5 million years.
"A first-rate ride," pronounces Denver's Bill Voss, a member of the Colorado Historic Railroad Preservation Association, who made the trek with his wife, Katie. "It's good to see that the railway has managed to keep so much in the cars historically correct— the mahogany sills, the racks, the seat covers, lights and hardware."
Down the line
Railroads are nothing new in historic Williams, founded in 1874 and now home to about 2,500 people. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad came through here in 1882, bringing transcontinental travelers within 65 miles of the Grand Canyon.
By 1901, a spur line from Williams had reached the canyon's rim. During the next half century, the Santa Fe Railroad brought more than 1 million visitors to the Grand Canyon, sparking the construction of some of the canyon's most beloved architectural landmarks such as El Tovar Hotel and Bright Angel Lodge. Those facilities, along with the depot in Williams, were managed by the Fred Harvey Co.
"The train actually opened up the Grand Canyon to numbers of visitors," says David Chambers, president of the Grand Canyon Railway. "The stagecoach was an expensive and grueling trip. It was the train that opened the Grand Canyon to the masses."
That rich history of travel and dining— and the era of the Harvey Girls— can still be seen today at the Williams Depot.
The depot and adjoining Fray Marcos Hotel opened in 1908. Today the depot also houses a museum featuring displays of railroad china, Harvey Girl waitress uniforms, spike pullers, photographs and rail tie tongs.
At the other end of the spur is the Grand Canyon Depot, a log structure completed in 1910, and the only depot still in active service within the National Park Service.
Passenger rail service from Williams to the Grand Canyon, however, ceased in 1968, falling victim, finally, to the automobile and public roads into the park. In 1927, 70,382 passengers arrived at the South Rim via train. In 1968, there were three passengers on the last train, according to Chambers.
Arizona entrepreneurs Max and Thelma Biegert eventually invested tens of millions of dollars to bring the Grand Canyon Railway back to life, according to Chambers. As part of the restoration, vintage steam and diesel locomotives have undergone extensive reconditioning, with a 1923 steam engine alone requiring 80,000 man-hours.
Trains and automobiles
In its second life, the Grand Canyon Railway's first run was on Sept. 17, 1989, exactly 88 years after the Santa Fe Railroad made its inaugural passenger trip to the Grand Canyon. In 2004, the Grand Canyon Railway carried more than 210,000 passengers.
"We figure that last year alone, we removed 85,000 cars from the park," says Chambers. "The train is a fun way to avoid the park congestion, the parking hassles and the lines into the park."
Today, the company also operates the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and Max and Thelma's Restaurant adjacent to the Williams Depot, both modeled in style after the historic depot and the Fray Marcos Hotel.
Rail passengers can find package hotel/rail options at the hotel, or may choose to stay in other hotels in Williams. Expected to open by fall 2005 is a 125-space RV park and a pet boarding facility, according to Chambers.
No matter where passengers stay, Wild West fare is part of the railway's entertainment. A mock gun battle is a prelude to every train trip, and the bandits revive to stage a raid on the train on the return ride. Cowboy singers and entertainers stop off in train cars to sing a few songs.
"Can you think of a better job?" says Rusty Rogers, who for six years has played the role of the deputy marshal. Burly and bearded, and dressed in chaps and Western gear, Rogers, like many of the other part-time actors, has found retirement satisfying in Williams.
"I'm more interested in following my passion instead of my pension," he says.
Williams, about 30 miles west of Flagstaff on Interstate 40, has a downtown district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of the buildings were constructed around 1900, and Route 66 is its main street. Nearby are fishing lakes, hiking trails, downhill and cross-country ski trails, and historical sites.
~Jane Mahoney, Albuquerque Journal
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