Day Three Afternoon - On The Train
The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in the U.S. state of Arizona. The passenger excursion line operates on 20 miles of tracks of the Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, a shortline.
We got there right on time and got assigned seating so no rush to get on the train. We went through the little museum first and we read everything.
Did You Know? The tracks on which the Verde Canyon Railroad runs were opened in 1912 as part of a north–south branch line linking a copper smelter at Clarkdale and the copper mines at Jerome to Santa Fe Railway tracks passing through Drake. The Santa Fe Railway owned and operated the 38-mile (61 km) branch line from 1912 to 1988.
David L. Durbano bought the branch line in 1988.[Passenger service between Clarkdale at milepost 38 and Perkinsville at milepost 18, resumed in 1990 under the name Verde Canyon Railroad. Milepost 0 of the AZCR is at Drake, where the line meets the BNSF Railway system. The AZCR track to Drake is still used for hauling freight even though the excursion line stops at Perkinsville.
Excursions involve a 4-hour, 40-mile (64 km) round trip from Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back. Scenes from How the West Was Won were filmed at Perkinsville in 1960s.The route follows the Verde River, crossing bridges and trestles, and passes through a 680-foot-long (210 m) curved tunnel.
Between milepost 30 and Perkinsville, most of the land along the railroad right-of-way is in the Prescott National Forest or the Coconino National Forest (across the river).
The railroad carries about 100,000 passengers per year. In 2005 the Verde Canyon Railroad celebrated its one-millionth passenger, and the following month was named an "Arizona Treasure" by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.
At the station
Getting ready to depart
This train was built by the Irish immigrants to haul copper from the mines
The railroaders love this small railway!
The panels were done very well, it was enjoyable to read them.
We had wonderful seats, adjacent to the door and no one nearby.
Checkout the shirt!
We got the book so we could get a blow by blow description as we traveled
There seemed to be plenty of water even at the end of summer
The river was fast
Did You Know? The Verde River (Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about 170 miles (270 km) long and carries a mean flow of 602 cubic feet per second (17.0 m3/s) at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Miles and miles of miles and miles
A lot of hikers walk by the railway
We cross many trestles along the 20 mile route
Some of the trestles are quite long
Our car was right behind the engine
The area was rugged
As we moved up the canyon the red rocks started to show again
Our photographer in action
Do you see two frogs? Mary wanted to kiss them!
They are watching us!
We had a great view from the flatcars (open cars)
We could touch the walls of the canyon in many places
Look careful and see the turtle!
Do we look happy of what?
Big happy!
I whispered in her ear!
There was a lot of iron wood in the canyon
The tunnels were blasted out of solid rock
We met some nice folks along the way
Not time for an earthquake with rocks directly overhead
Hundreds of feet straight up the canyon wall
Lots of water flows through here when it rains
It is quite a winding path
"Hey there, get a room!"
That's better big boy!
The train stopped so two folks could get married.
Music began and so did we!
A little country western music and we are off and running
The train runs about 15 miles per hour going back to the station so we stayed inside
The engines are now at the back of the train, hence the caboose right behind the engines
Camera is ready for any eventuality.
Well, almost ready!
Caught on camera!
She lights up my day!
We returned to Sedona and went to the Pump House Station for dinner. The food was reasonable and the wine was fine. After dinner we crashed, too tired from pushing the train!
It was just two blocks from our hotel!
Mary got a big giggle out of their signage
