Ted and Sylvia Blishak write

the Leisure Rail column for

Passenger Train Journal

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Information below is reprinted by permission of the publisher, White River Productions, Inc.  www.whiteriverproductions.com

The rebirth of Santa Fe's most famous branch

With four million visitors per year, Grand Canyon is one of the most popular and well-known tourist attractions in the world. The national park's crowds, overflowing parking lots, and traffic jams are legendary.

But, getting to the Grand Canyon's rim is easy and enjoyable by train, and is a way of participating in the solution without being aware that such distractions exist. It's not only an historic way to arrive, it covers the 65-mile distance nonstop, and it's also environmentally responsible. During 2004, for example, the railway carried more than 225,000 passengers, which reduced automobile traffic to the South Rim by more than 10 percent.

The Grand Canyon Railway's roots date from over a century ago as a means of transporting minerals and ore from mines at the canyon's edge. The first train, a steam-hauled freight, whistled out of Williams, Ariz., in 1901, on a branch that was built by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Soon the canyon became known as an outstanding natural attraction. Mining ceased, and under Teddy Roosevelt's administration, the area was protected and eventually became Grand Canyon National Park.

Ted Blishak's tattered, 1958-vintage copy of the Official Guide of Railways describes daily service to the canyon. Santa Fe train 123, the northern section (via La Junta, Colo.) of the Grand Canyon, departed Chicago for Los Angeles. At about midnight, two sleepers were cut from the train at Williams where, as passengers slept, they were parked until 4:30AM. Then, behind another locomotive, they became train 14, arriving at the canyon's rim at 7AM. At 8PM, the sleepers headed back to Williams for a midnight transfer to continue westbound to Los Angeles on train 123.

When Ted drove to the canyon's South rim in the winter of 1961, the service was still operating. "A streamlined Santa Fe Budd sleeper and a chair car were spotted at the El Tovar Hotel platform and were hooked up to steam lines, with wisps of vapor escaping into the freezing air," he recalls.

Santa Fe's Grand Canyon branch wasn't immune to the effects of automobile competition. Scheduled passenger service on the line went out with a whimper on June 30,1968, as a diesel pulled a two-car Williams-Grand Canyon connecting train (the through cars were gone), with only three lonely passengers aboard, into history. The tracks lay derelict for the next 21 years.

However, the spirit of the railway lived on in the hearts of residents in small-town Williams, "The Gateway to the Grand Canyon." Perhaps they dreamed of a wealthy patron, or even a miracle, that would bring the train back to life. Both parts of the dream eventually came true by coincidence.

Max and Thelma Biegert were becoming restless. After ten years, these retired entrepreneurs needed a purposeful lifestyle. Then, an acquaintance asked to borrow a few thousand dollars. When the loan remained outstanding, they sought him out. He'd put money into a project to restore some railroad tracks in Arizona, but ran out of funds before making progress. Now the money was gone, and he couldn't pay it back.

What he could do, however, was turn the title of the right-of-way over to Max and Thelma. The surprised new owners of the abandoned line went to Arizona to look it over. They realized they did have the financial resources to bring rail service back to the canyon.

They hired high-paid consultants to look over the deserted railway line. The consultants concluded that a tourist rail line between 1-40 and the rim of the canyon was ideally located and likely to succeed, but it would take too much time and money to get the tracks repaired and to find rolling stock and motive power to restore and operate.

Undeterred and excited, Max and Thelma had both the time and the money. They invested $15 million as well as their energy, enthusiasm, and business experience to get the railway restored, and launched a search to find both steam and diesel locomotives to put on it.

The Biegert's announced their ambitious project in January 1989. Their goal was to operate a train to the canyon by Sept. 17, the anniversary of the line's first train, a seemingly impossible deadline only eight months away. The scheme involved hundreds of tasks, such as rebuilding bridges, replacing ruined bolts and ties, reballasting the tracks, and restoring depots in both Williams and at the canyon. (The Williams depot included a Harvey House Hotel, the original Fray Marcos Hotel.)

Construction of a repair and maintenance shop for vintage rolling stock and locomotives began. Max and Thelma hired expert welders, machinists, painters, boilermakers, and mechanics who knew how to fix them. (This shop now operates year round and employs nearly 60 experts in both diesel and steam locomotive restoration and maintenance. If they don't have or can't find an original antique part they need, they just construct a new one.)

For the story of the miraculous restoration of the facilities, as well as the search of motive power and rolling stock, we recommend RAILS TO THE RIM by Al Richmond. The book is full of photos, and the author's account of the rebirth will keep you spellbound. It is published by the Grand Canyon Railway. Call 1-800-THE TRAIN and ask for the gift shop. Or, visit www.thetrain.com.

On Sept. 16, 1989, with only one day to go, volunteers were painting the numbers on the locomotive while workers put the finishing touches on the working parts. By the following day, Sept. 17, GCR steam locomotive No. 18 sat simmering and whispering on the restored tracks at Williams... as it awaited a reopening-day crowd of 10,000 people!

More locomotives, both diesel and steam, have been added over the years, and the GCR continues to be a work-in-progress. Max and Thelma's Restaurant and the Fray Marcos Hotel opened trackside in Williams (the hotel name was later changed to the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel), and an RV Park was added, along with a new Pet Resort so that visitors can leave their pampered pets in a temperature-controlled environment under expert care while they ride the train.

Getting there

Arriving on Amtrak at Williams, the railhead for the Grand Canyon Railway, is a two-step operation. For eastbound passengers on Amtrak's Southwest Chief, train No. 4, a 4:20AM arrival at Williams Junction (threemiles from Williams) is completed with a bus connection scheduled to arrive at Williams 10 minutes later at the inauspicious hour of 4:35AM. Westbound passengers on No. 3 arrive at the Williams Junction Station at 9:30PM and are bussed to Williams with a 9:40PM arrival. Although the BNSF Railway tracks are parallel to those of the GCR at Williams, there is no provision for the Southwest Chief to stop here. BNSF freights rumble past at full throttle on the original line just a few feet from the Williams Station passenger platform while Amtrak is routed on the newer alignment that bypasses Williams.

May 5, 2007; Flagstaff, Ariz.: We took the easy way out and rented a Lincoln Town Car at the Flagstaff Amtrak station, which was reserved at the more convenient scheduled 8:46PM arrival of the westbound Southwest Chief. Hertz guarantees to meet all trains, even if they are late.

May 6, 2007; Williams, Ariz.: A 30-mile drive on 1-40 leads to a turnoff to the famous Route 66, which is tiny Williams' Main Street. We checked into the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. There are various choices for inclusive packages available from the railway at 1-800-THE-TRAIN. Travelers may reserve meals and hotel stays in Williams, as well as overnights at the canyon. Motorcoach tours of the rim may be added, as well as regional tours to the Navajo Reservation and Sedona.

There are six classes of service available on the train.

1. Pullman Coach [sic] Class has seating in restored 1923 Harriman-style heavyweights. Despite the name, it is not a sleeping car.
2. Club Class uses the same type car with a custom-made mahogany bar added.
3. Budd Coach Class uses equipment from the streamliner era of the 1950s.
4. First Class features reclining seats.
5. Observation Dome Class utilizes streamliner dome cars from the 1950s.
6. Luxury Parlor Class offers "rail baron"-type amenities, with lounge seating and an open platform.

The station, restaurant, hotel, and gift shop are all close together and arranged like a campus so people can easily walk to everything.

Since the Williams Flyer train was due back from the canyon at 6:15PM, a stroll over to Max and Thelma's trackside restaurant before seemed appropriate. Inside the restaurant a model train, in GCR's old gray-green livery with gold lettering, clicked smartly along, pulled by a model diesel with a realistic whistle. We selected a table with a view of the platform and enjoyed a buffet dinner as the lengthy train arrived.

May 7, 2007; Williams to the Grand Canyon: After a buffet breakfast, it was time for the "All Aboard." We had selected Dome Class outbound. A large collection of rolling stock, in excellent repair, lay in the yards awaiting the upcoming summer season when two daily trains would be operating.

The tracks wound through a ponderosa forest, then into open country with sagebrush and juniper trees. Due to lack of ground water, this part of the Colorado Plateau is uninhabited. With clear air, distant mountains, and not a car or building in sight, this was the Wild West that people saw from the liness very first train in 1901.

The tracks have a variety of curves and grades, affording excellent views of the shiny train winding and climbing through the desert. Strolling musicians in period costumes entertained; we enjoyed excellent fresh pastries and fruit, coffee and juice—a second breakfast —but somehow, traveling by train seems to increase ones appetite.

The Williams Flyer arrived at the platform near the canyon in time for lunch; the El Tovar Hotel was a short uphill walk away. With its distinctive cupola, the 1905 pine and stone building, built by the Fred Harvey Company, overlooks the canyon.

"Parking is always a hassle," our Star Guides review of the hotel had warned. "Most guests park their cars once and use the free park shuttle to get around." After a meal at the hotels restaurant, we strolled on a paved pathway along the canyon's rim, enjoying the sunny weather. Happily, we did not see the aforementioned parking lot, or even a car. Had Ted written the review, he would have added, "Smart guests arrive by train."

By 4PM, we were back on board, and this time, for variety, enjoying the amenities of Luxury Parlor Class: champagne, snacks, and a private bar - and of course, the open-air rear platform. Fresh air seems to increase the appetite, too.

ABOVE LEFT: A strolling musician works one of the dome cars in 2007. SYLVIA BLISHAK. RIGHT: Refreshments are being served in one of the "Pullman Coaches" in 1996. ELROND G. LAWRENCE
ABOVE: The former Santa Fe Grand Canyon depot is a wonder in itself. It's located at the foot of the famous El Tovar Hotel, and both are but a short walk from the Grand Canyon south rim. Parking in this area is a nightmare, and gradually travelers are discovering that training to the canyon makes the most sense. ELROND A. LAWRENCE

ABOVE: Budd-built rolling stock of varying heritage abounds on some GCR runs, and now dome cars are part of the offering.
Here a northbound train climbs to the south rim in the spring of 2007. SYLVIA BLISHAK

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