My dad and I just returned this afternoon from Williams, Arizona for an epic weekend of train fun. I'd been wanting to ride the Grand Canyon Railway for a long time. I have to say: if you ever get the chance, ride the GCRR. The scenery is amazing and the experience is one you'll never forget.
My dad and I left Thursday afternoon and stayed 2 nights at the Grand Canyon Hotel in Williams, which is right next to the GCRR depot and the mainline of the BNSF Seligman Sub between Needles, CA and Winslow, AZ.
Friday morning was our train ride. Before we boarded, the RR crew puts on a hilarious wild west show featuring a small gang of goofy thugs. Riding on the train, you experience forest and desert scenery, workers who sing old western songs, a guide who tells a lot of dad jokes, and even a train robbery (fake, of course, but really fun). If that wasn't enough, I got to ride in the best car on the train: the top of the dome car (although riding in the engine would have way awesome)!
Once we got to the Grand Canyon Village, Dad and I took a bus tour to a couple of fantastic viewing areas where we could see just how absolutely breathtaking the Grand Canyon really is. I've been there before, once, but I was really young. This time was so much better, especially with a train ride, too.
This morning, Dad and I headed home to Vegas via Kingman, AZ. We stopped at the local train museum and the Route 66 Museum. There's a lot of history in both Kingman and Williams. Kingman also has a Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3759 on display, so we stopped and took some photos of that engine, too. Wow, that thing is huge!
The weather was perfect in Williams. It was only in like 80 degrees, give or take. Kingman was a bit warmer. Back here in Vegas, it's way hotter.
Of course, I also got to do a bit of train watching on this trip. Besides the Grand Canyon RR Train (and I got to see the #4960 2-8-2 Mikado up close, too), I saw plenty of long, heavy BNSF freight trains go by the Williams Depot. A couple of them woke me up early in the morning! I even saw a rare BNSF (ex-ATSF) Heritage 1 C40-8W pulling an auto rack train. That was pretty cool. Dash 8s are not so common, despite them being only 30-something years old (many are older than me!).
Again, I highly recommend the Grand Canyon RR.
