Railfaning the Southwest

[sitchad]

I decided I need to get the heck out of Dodge (San Jose) and get away. My SO has never seen the Southwest. I thought it would be fun if she and I took a road trip in October.

We want to do a bunch of hiking and mountain biking and go to Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Valley of fire and Canyon De Chelly. But I want to do some train watching as well.

So I was thinking we could do the old Route 66 as part of the trip. Kingman to Seligman was my thought. From Seligman go to Flagstaff and then off to the sites. We could also do the reverse.

So for those that are in the area or know where are good spots to get some great views of real trains your input would be appreciated. And oh yes, I plan to drag her to a few yards as well.

She is actually very supportive of my hobby. In return I promised a trip to Costa Rica later this year or yearly next so it all works.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and locations. If I get good photos I promise to post. I think most will be BNSF as that is there route if I am not mistaken. Too bad SP and ATSF aren't still around, that would be very cool.

[Ed M]

Any chance of getting over to southeast Utah / southwest Colorado? I'd suggest trying to ride either the Durango & Silverton or the Cumbres & Toltec (both would be better). Plus there's great hiking in the National Parks in southeast Utah, including Arches and Canyonlands, and Mesa Verde over in Colorado.

Not much modern day railroading in that area, but the D&S and the C&T are great.

Enjoy

[Powersteamguy1790]

Chad:

Monument Valley is worth the trip. Go into the valley and follow the road all the way through the valley.

John Ford's point is a great view. He filmed many of John Wayne's westerns in the valley.

Stage Coach, She Were A Yellow Ribbon and the Searchers.

Cheyenne Autumn with Richard Widmark was also fimed in the valley.

At John Ford's Point, you see the view of the Thunder Storm in "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon".

Take in the Painted desert, Zion and Bryce Canyons if you get a chance.

Go to Williams Arizona and stay overnight and take the Grand Canyon Railroad into the Grand Canyon. They put on a train robbery on the way back to Williams. It's worth the ride.

The Grand Canyon Railroad - Williams Az. (http://www.thetrain.com/home.cfm)

http://www.thetrain.com/user/files/documents/homepage_steam.jpg

Visit Sedona and take in all the red rock country.

They filmed "Broken Arrow" with James Stewart in the Sedona area. You can take jeep tours into the backwoods. That was very interesting.

Costa Rica is an interesting country. The Rain forests are amazing. We went there before we cruised the Panama Canal. If you do Costa Rica, the Panama Canal is a "must". How the Panama Canal was built in the early 1900's was a marvelous engineering feat due to the harshness of the climate and terrain. They used railroads in the construction and excavation of the Canal.


Have fun..... smile.gif ;)

Stay cool and run steam...... graemlins/cool.gif :cool: :cool:

[ July 25, 2005, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: Powersteamguy1790 ]

[BALOU LINE]

Here's another Arizona scenic rail
Verde Canyon Railroad (http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/)
If for nothing else, they have the best looking FP7As I have ever seen, but that's just my opinion.

[atsf_arizona]

I grew up in Arizona, and even as a kid had several family vacations go to Colorado, so here's my 2 cents, in my personal order of preference:

1) I'll second the suggestion about the Durango and Silverton in southwest Colorado. *Spectacular* scenery. For a non-railfan-er like your wife, I think it has the highest ratio of on-track scenic beauty and thrills. The sight of a former DRG&W K-28 2-8-2 and narrow gauge train hugging the Animas River canyon walls several hundred feet above the river, is a thrill that wife and you will always remember.

Check to make sure when they run, as October is after high season.

Be careful, if you take that journey, you risk being unavoidably lured into building a Nn3 narrow gauge branch/tourist railroad expansion in your garage, or being lured into Narrow Gauge in another scale!!! Aspen Model brass Nn3 DRG&W 2-8-2's aren't cheap! (smile)


2) In Arizona, the Grand Canyon Railway is good, as the destination of the Grand Canyon is of course unparalleled. Check when they run, as October is after high season.

Do note that the track from Williams to GC isn't very scenic, so while you as a railfan will appreciate the historical value, make sure you have secretly prepared the wife to be entertained during the approx 2 hour trip there and 2 hour trip back. GC Rwy does have the strolling guitar players and 'outlaw-rob-the-train' stuff to keep the passengers entertained.


3) I've not been to the Verde Canyon RR, but it sure looks gorgeous from the photos. It's a former Santa Fe branch, off the Santa Fe's Peavine Line. The station is in Cottonwood, I believe, which is about an 1 hour or so drive south of Flagstaff, and you could get there easily from Sedona.

Sedona itself is beautiful, and your wife would love the visit.

If you're in that area and have the time, see if you would also like to check out the old mining 'ghost town' of Jerome, perched high on a hill. It's now a charming little restaurant/bed and breakfast tourist town.


4) Finally, somewhere in the railfan/Trains magazine etc. there are articles that detail all the BNSF trans-con railroad spots along the way, using Route 66 and I-40 as the reference spots. After I get back from this business trip, let me see if I can find an article I have somewhere that lists all of these one by one, and if I do, I'll email you.


Hope this helps.

[ July 26, 2005, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: atsf_arizona ]

[traingeekboy]

I really like new mexico and southern Colorado. It's criss crossed with old narrow gauge lines. In southern colorado it seems like it's mandatory to have an old wood narrow gauge car decaying in your backyard all along Hwy 285. I swear it's true.

My new favorite place to visit in NM is this place:
http://www.ojocalientespa.com/
It's the sort of place where you forget about all your troubles. If you follow 285 north from here to Tres piedras, you can see an old water tower. Take a right and drive over the Rio grande bridge. Well worth the drive. Turn back around and head for chama NM.

It's a couple hours drive from this place:
http://www.cumbrestoltec.com/
Steam steam and steam!

Another must see kind of place just a couple hours from the new mexico border:
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/

[exadore]

If you get to Ely Nevada try

www.nevadanorthernrailway.net (http://www.nevadanorthernrailway.net)

here for a price you can operate a 1:1 scale locomotive

[sitchad]

These are great ideas, thanks everyone. Need to start looking at the maps and see what's what.

Exadore, that site looks cool. Would be fun to drive one of those old Alcos.

Thanks again,

[Pete Nolan]

You can't go wrong with any of the recommendations above. Just don't schedule things too tightly, as some of these sights require a bit of time to get to, and then 6-8 hours to really enjoy. Jeanne and I spent eight weeks of vacation in the Southwest before moving here in 1991, and much more time since then on vacations and weekend getaways--and we still haven't seen everything by a long shot.

[traingeekboy]

Originally posted by Pete Nolan:
You can't go wrong with any of the recommendations above. Just don't schedule things too tightly, as some of these sights require a bit of time to get to, and then

>>>>>>>>>>>>6-8 hours to really enjoy.<<<<<<<<<<<<


Jeanne and I spent eight weeks of vacation in the Southwest before moving here in 1991, and much more time since then on vacations and weekend getaways--and we still haven't seen everything by a long shot. I completely agree with Pete, especially that part about enjoying places.

[Pete Nolan]

I have my favorite "smaller" sites around Flagstaff--Walnut Creek, Oak Creek (Sedona), Wupatki, Tuzigoot, Montazuma's Castle. The smallest ones like Walnut Creek and the Castle can be enjoyed in 2-3 hours each. But Wupatki (still small by Nat. Monument standards) is at least half a day.

I think I could spend my entire life at the Grand Canyon and never exhaust the possibilities. At some point in every visit, we just have to get out and hike--not necessarily down, because back up can become a problem--but someplace away from the crowds. Usually that means taking the bus as far west as it goes, and then just setting off, with plenty of water and some light rain gear. At about two hours out, we'll have lunch and a libation, stay for an hour (or so), then hike back out.

Momument Valley is at the bottom of my list, btw. While spectacular, it's very poorly administered. If you are up in that area, it's worth a stop but not, imho, as a sole destination. Mesa Verde is incredible, but PLAN AHEAD--many of the sites have limited access. Unless you get their early, you can spend a lot of time in line to get tickets (free) to the more popular sites, even in October, when we usually travel.

Some of the "lesser" sites in the Four Corners area are quite well done and very educational. There are two site in Aztec, NM well worth a stop for an hour or so.

No one, I think, has talked about Chaco Canyon. This is, by all measures, the pre-eminent pre-Columbian site in the US, even beyond Mesa Verde. The problem? It's about 30-35 miles off the highways, on rutted, teeth-loosening "roads." The roads, it's been acknowledged by National Parks Service, are kept that way to discourage travelers. Already vibrations from foot and vehicle traffic have caused the closure of some of the most interesting spots, and damage to all. There are no accommodations beyond a campsite with water and toilets--no hotels, no food, no gas stations--and no lights (except for campers) within 30 miles. That 30 miles of rough road can take an hour, or a day if it rains hard. It really takes 2 days to see most of the sites. And, whoa, it can be hot in the summer, with no shade except behind or under rocks (of which there are plenty of big ones). Plan to get there early on Friday if you want a regular camping spot for the weekend.

Enough of Pete's travel tips for now. Chaco is my No. 1 spot in the US for a two-day (preferably three) visit for a pre-Columbian Pueblo experience.

[Powersteamguy1790]

If you're a western movie fan, Monument Valley is the place to see as many of John Ford's epic westerns were filmed in the Valley.


Stay cool and run steam..... graemlins/cool.gif :cool: :cool: