The Grand Canyon Railway

Last month, I shared some of the amazing history of Grand Canyon National Park, which I learned on my summer road trip to the park. This month, I thought I’d share about The Grand Canyon Railway. It provides a great way to see an absolutely awe-inspiring piece of nature and one of our national treasures.

After the end of the Civil War, more and more people traveled to the West, but the journey was long and difficult. It became somewhat easier when, in May of 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was complete. In the decades after this milestone, railway lines began to crisscross the vast western states and territories, and a main line eventually connected Chicago, Illinois to Las Angeles, California, passing through a little place called Williams, Arizona. Williams is a mere 64 miles from the South Rim of Grand Canyon, and there was a rail line that turned north from Williams toward the iconic landmark. The Anita mines also sat about 45 miles north of Williams.

William "Buckey" O'Neill

In the late 1800’s, Buckey O’Neill, sheriff of Yavapai County, saw that there was a need for a rail line

from Williams up to the mines in order to make it easier to move the heavy ore. He went to New York and got the support of the investment firm, Lombard, Goode, and Company, which in turn began negotiations with the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad to build a train line north of the town. To sweeten the deal, O’Neill and the investment firm talked up the awesome beauty and possibilities for tourism of the Canyon. O’Neill also courted local investors for the project, and by 1897, the Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railroad Company was born. Construction of the new line began immediately and was completed in 1901, with the first passengers traveling to Grand Canyon via the train on September 17, 1901.

Passengers on the inaugural ride to Grand Canyon.

Train Depot at
Grand Canyon's South Rim

The Santa Fe Railroad put much effort into developing the South Rim into a wonderful mecca for visitors. Employing the services of a female designer by the name of Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, they built several iconic hotels and lodges which are still in use today. In addition, they hired the Fred Harvey company to manage the hotels and restaurants to make the visitors’ experiences top notch.

(c) Jennifer Uhlarik

But as so often happens, time marched on. Automobiles became more accessible for American families. With the opening of Route 66 in November 1926, people found an easy and scenic way to travel the country. Road trips grew in popularity, which had a very negative effect on train travel. Eventually, the Santa Fe Railroad was forced to make a difficult decision. Since so many travelers were choosing their own vehicles rather than the rails, the company stopped providing rail service to Grand Canyon in 1968.

You’d think that this was a very sad ending to a piece of American history, but there’s good news. Eighty-eight years to the day after the first passenger train carried visitors to the national park, The Grand Canyon Railway made another “first trip.” Entrepreneurs Max and Thelma Biegert realized that this important piece of history was about to disappear completely when a company began pulling up the tracks to salvage the materials. In a last-minute decision, the Biegerts bought the Grand Canyon Railway, stopped the salvage attempts, and declared that the railroad would once again provide passenger service to the South Rim. They rebuilt the tracks, restored the train engine and cars, and reopened for business on September 17, 1989, twenty-one years after their last trip.

Engine of Grand Canyon Railway train.
(c) Jennifer Uhlarik

Today, the train makes daily trips to and from the Canyon. You can catch the train at the original Williams depot, which sits beside the stylish Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. To add to its historic charm, they provide a short Old West reenactment before you board the train for your two-hour ride into the park. Some of the period characters come along to provide musical entertainment for the journey. It truly is worth the time to experience this little piece of Americana.

It’s your turn. Have you ever ridden a train? Where and when? Did you enjoy it? If you haven’t, would you like to? Where would you like to go?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

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Grand Canyon National Park

by Jennifer Uhlarik

So…I had the great fortune to take a two-week road trip with my family this summer. We were able to see a lot of great things on our cross-country travels, stopping in several states along the way, but our big destination was Arizona’s Grand Canyon. I’d been to see it when I was roughly 10 years old, but neither my husband nor my 18-year-old son had been. So that was the anchor location that we built our trip around, and while we didn’t attempt going down into the canyon, we were each awed by the splendor and beauty we saw from the South Rim. If you have never been, let me just say it is so worth the trip.

Grand Canyon At Sunset

© Jennifer Uhlarik

 

Another view of Grand Canyon
© Jennifer Uhlarik

Here’s a few facts. Grand Canyon is 277 miles long. At its widest point, it is eighteen miles wide, and at its narrowest, it is four miles wide. It is approximately one mile deep. Temperatures at the South Rim can range from 30-40 degrees in winter, with a good chance of snow at times…to 100 degrees or above during summer, though the nighttime temperatures can fall quite a bit, causing a big discrepancy. Inside the canyon, temperatures are known to reach 120 degrees easily.

Ancestral Puebloan granaries high above the Colorado  River at Nankoweap Creek, Grand Canyon.
(Photo: Drenaline, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0)

Grand Canyon was the seventeenth national park to be established within the United States, and was granted that honor in 1919. But long before it was discovered by white men, Grand Canyon and the surrounding area was home to various tribes of Indians. Ancient Puebloan Indians, the ancestors of the modern Pueblo people, were thought to be some of the earliest settlers to Grand Canyon. Like I said, my family didn’t hike into the canyon, so we didn’t see them in person, but this photo of Ancient Puebloan granaries found within Grand Canyon indicate the Indians’ presence from long ago. In addition to the Ancient Puebloans, the Cohonina, the Sinagua, the Hualapai, and Havasupai—among many others—lived around or in the canyon long before the white man came along.

With that in mind, it was a real pleasure for us to see an authentic display of Native American dances

put on by a group of very talented folks. We had a truly amazing time watching the various dancers in their colorful regalia as they performed a traditional grass dance, hoop dance, and others for the park goers.

A Young Native American man performs a dance
honoring the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII.
© Jennifer Uhlarik

A young girl and her grandmother perform a traditional women's dance.
© Jennifer Uhlarik

A Native American Man performs the Grass Dance
© Jennifer Uhlarik

A young woman performs the Butterfly Dance
© Jennifer Uhlarik

A Native American man performs a traditional
Hoop Dance.
© Jennifer Uhlarik

Francisco Vazquez de Coronado

So how did the white or European settlers come across Grand Canyon? In the mid-1500’s, the Spanish found their way to the area as they searched for the Seven Cities of Cibola under orders from Conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado. The small band of Spanish soldiers followed a Hopi guide about a third of the way into the canyon, but were forced to turn back because they lacked water. In their notes on the foray, they expressed concern that their guide purposely didn’t show them watering holes along the way for fear that the newcomers would stay. In 1776, Spanish priests returned, this time to the North Rim, as they searched for a way to reach California from Santa Fe, while others spent time attempting (unsuccessfully) to convert the Havasupai Indians to Christianity.

In 1826, a group of American trappers and mountain men traipsed into the area and “discovered” Grand Canyon. By the mid 1800’s, Lieutenant Joseph Ives led a military survey party into the canyon, only to deem the area “altogether valueless” and a “profitless locality.” (Doesn’t that make you laugh when you consider that five million people visit Grand Canyon National Park each year?)

Grand Canyon at Morning
© Jennifer Uhlarik

John Wesley Powell

In 1869, John Wesley Powell, who later founded and ran the U.S. Geological Society, explored the Colorado River with a team of men using wooden boats, and went back to explore the river again in 1871. Soon after, lead, zinc, asbestos, and copper deposits were found in the canyon, which led many to stake mining claims across the next two decades. Unfortunately for them, the process of mining in such inhospitable conditions proved to be difficult, if not deadly, and Grand Canyon finally shifted from a miner’s playground to one of the most sought-out tourist attractions within the United States.

There are lots of great things to do at Grand Canyon today. Both the North and South Rim areas are run by the National Park Service today. You can hike or ride a mule into the canyon, or white-water raft down the Colorado River. Helicopters rides are available for a price to those who want to see an up-closer view of the canyon floor without the hike or mule ride to get there. Hiking along the rim provides many scenic and beautiful views, and there are many historic buildings with interesting stories to be explored along the South Rim. The North Rim is much more rugged with fewer services than the South Rim. And the Western Rim, which is run by the Haulapai Indian Tribe rather than the National Park Service, is where tourists can go to experience the “Skywalk”—where they can walk out over the Grand Canyon on a crystal-clear pathway that provides a view into the canyon like no other. (Unfortunately, as one who has a very healthy fear of heights, I doubt I’d be able to experience the Skywalk or a hike/mule ride into the canyon).

Rugged terrain at Grand Canyon
© Jennifer Uhlarik

It’s your turn: Have you ever been to Grand Canyon? Did you stay on the rim or did you hike into the canyon? If you haven’t been, would you hike down? Why or why not?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.