SUMMER SEASON AT THE GRAND CANYON RAILWAY
Source: Xanterra Parks & Resorts
Mar 26, 2008 - 12:51:12 PM
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At the Grand Canyon Railway, summer means that “Steam Season” has arrived.
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Grand Canyon Railway operates two round-trip excursions daily to Grand Canyon Village. The rest of the year, with the exception of periods in the spring, October, Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the Railway sends a single diesel-pulled train. Trains do not run on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Just like the crack of the baseball bat signals spring to many people, the huffing and puffing of a steam locomotive means that summer is here,” said Angela Berrigan, vice president of sales and marketing. “You really can feel the excitement in the air.”
The Grand Canyon Railway owns four steam locomotives, including two that have been restored to like-new working condition and run in the summer. Locomotive No. 4960 was built in 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, operated in freight and coal-hauling service for the Midwestern Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) railroad until the late 1950s and made its first official run on the Grand Canyon line in 1996. Locomotive No. 29 was restored in 2004 at a cost of more than 26,000 man-hours of labor and $1 million. An SC-3 class locomotive, Locomotive No. 29 was built in 1906 by ALCO in Pittsburgh. It is a 2-8-0 consolidation-type locomotive and weighs 185 tons.
During Steam Season, trains depart the Williams, Ariz. depot at 9 and 10 a.m. after a “Wild West Shootout.” The 65-mile trip to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park takes two hours and 15 minutes, arriving at 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. respectively. Bell staff collects and delivers the luggage of in-park lodge overnight guests at the Grand Canyon Depot. Train riders who return the same day have three hours and 45 minutes to board a motorcoach for a narrated tour with lunch, or they can explore and eat lunch on their own. The trains depart at 3 and 4:30 p.m. for the trip back to Williams, arriving at 5:15 and 6:45 p.m.
The Railway offers six classes of service, as well as money-saving packages featuring accommodations and meals at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams. Overnight stays at the Grand Canyon also can be included in the packages. Rates for guests 13 and older range from $65 to $170. Children’s rates are available in four of the six classes and range from $35 to $100.
The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel was designed to resemble the historic Fray Marcos Hotel and Williams Depot structures that stand nearby. The hotel is comprised of 288 standard rooms, 11 luxury suites as well as two spacious meeting rooms available for wedding receptions, seminars and other functions; a large courtyard with barbecue and wet bar; a game room for children; a large enclosed crescent-shaped pool and hot tub and an exercise room.
Grand Canyon Railway is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. For more information, visit www.thetrain.com or call 1-800-THE-TRAIN (1-800-843-8724).
The Grand Canyon Railway is operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts.
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