The Verde Valley Railroad sent me two postcards to help me finish my 50 State Post Card project for the classroom I work in at McFadden Intermediate School and I decided to ride this tourist train. It was a line that I always wanted to ride so was going to give myself a present and finally do it. My original plan was to visit there in May, but after looking at the weather and long-range forecast, I decided the time was right in April, so I called to book my ticket. The Arizona Diamondbacks were home that weekend so I went online and purchased a ticket to Friday night's game. Alice Cooper's Cooperstown restaurant was also in Phoenix and I wanted to have a meal at his establishment so everything was set for a fantastic two-day trip.
4/19/2002 I awoke at 4:00 AM and after my morning duties, was on the road by 4:40 AM and departed that early so I would miss the San Diego traffic, which worked out beautifully. I had Interstate 8 all to myself and after filling the car with petrol in Yuma, followed the Sunset Route of the former Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific, to Maricopa and found an eastbound freight at Kinter and after driving dirt roads, managed to get ahead of it on the freeway to Mohawk, where I was waiting for it. There were four other westbounds but the lighting was not right so I just watched them roll by. I had a very pleasant drive and when I arrived at Maricopa, found the new Amtrak depot made out of California Zephyr dome-observation car "Silver Horizon", one of the most very unique Amtrak depots in the country. I drove into Phoenix and had lunch at Alice Cooper's Cooperstown where I enjoyed a smoked prime rib which was excellent. After I looked around, I went to the Motel 6 on Northern Avenue and checked in.
After relaxing, I drove back to downtown Phoenix and following the directions of Cooperstown's manager, parked behind their building for a mere five dollars and since I had time to spare, walked over to the former Southern Pacific station and walked the platform where I stepped off many times from the Sunset Limited and boarded Southern Pacific 4449 West in 1984. I returned to Cooperstown and explored the restaurant at length then walked the four blocks to Bank One Ballpark and picked up my ticket for the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies. It was really an amazing stadium, complete with a swimming pool above center field where I was sitting. About fifteen minutes before the game was scheduled to start, weird music came from the loud speaker system to be played as the roof was opened. The wind began to blew and airplanes on their way to Sky Harbor Airport were seen, as well as the moon shining overhead. I enjoyed the game and did not mind which team won. For the record, the Rockies won 8-6. If you liked home runs, this game was for you, as there were four by Luis Gonzalez, Jose Guillen and Danny Bautista of the Diamondbacks and a solo shot by Greg Norton of the Rockies. It was easy for me to escape Phoenix after the game as I returned to the motel for a good night's sleep.
The Verde Canyon Railroad 4/20/2002The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in Arizona. The passenger excursion line operates on 20 miles of tracks of the Arizona Central Railroad, a shortline. The Verde Canyon Railroad has its depot, headquarters and a railway museum in Clarkdale, about 25 miles southwest of Sedona.
The vintage diesel locomotives, EMD FP7s 1510 and 1512, pulling the classic passenger cars are two of only ten remaining in operation in North America. They were originally built for the Alaska Railroad in 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in LaGrange, Illinois. The engines debuted their eagle-inspired paint livery along these rails on March 8, 1997. Before setting out, numbers 1510 and 1512 were meticulously renovated with modern features added for safety.
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 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 four-hour, 40-mile round trip from Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back. Scenes from "How the West Was Won" were filmed at Perkinsville in 1960. The route follows the Verde River, crossing bridges and trestles, and passes through a 680-foot-long 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.
My VisitI was up early and drove Interstate 17 to Arizona Highway 260 at Camp Verde then stopped at Cottonwood for petrol and a MacDonald's breakfast. I turned onto Arizona Highway 89A which took me into Clarkdale right to the depot, an attractive building with excellent groomed grounds. Below the parking lot were passenger cars from the Wyoming and Colorado Railroad, which came here when former Alaska Railroad FP7As 1510 & 1510 arrived from that operation when it ended its 1995 excursion season in Wyoming.
I walked up the hill to the front of the train where the power was basically hidden by the trees, went inside the depot and picked up my ticket as well as purchasing the Rail Magazine, Official Magazine of the Verde Canyon Railroad. I returned to my car and read the newspaper and the guide book while I relaxed before train time then about ten minutes beforehand, I returned to the platform.
Verde Canyon Railroad FP7A 1512, ex. Mountain Diesel Transportation 1512, exx. Wyoming and Colorado 1512, nee Alaska Railroad 1512, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1953, leading today's train. I boarded coach 2126 "Cottonwood", ex. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, exx. Conrail 2126, exxx. Penn Central 2126, exxxx. New York Central 1726 1966, nee New York Central 3048 built by Pullman-Standard in 1946. The car attendant gave a brief speech about safety and the train before I ventured out into our coach's open car "Jerome", where I would spend this beautiful clera April Arizona morning traveling to Perkinsville. We waited for a few latecomers before the engineer whistled and the train started on the way.
As we left, we passed the Arizona Central freight train waiting to make its run next week then travelled by the buildings of the former smelter complex prior to running between the slag tailings from the former copper industry that was located here. The Verde River came into view and we would follow its course for the next nineteen miles, running on the south side of the river until just short of our destination. The first highlight was the Sinagua Cliff dwellings high above us on the western cliffs, followed by the original smokestack that marked the location of the former TAPCO (The Arizona Power Company) power plant which used to generate electricity not only for Clarkdale and the Verde Valley, but also for Phoenix. We crossed through this area with the narrator telling us to be on the lookout for wildlife. The public address system was used most of the journey to point out locations and for musical interludes. A bridge made from the turntable at Prescott was traversed then we entered the inner gorge of the Verde River.
A few minutes, later we crossed S.O.B. Canyon (Superintendent of Bridges), which is the longest and highest on the railroad at 150 feet then stopped after the impressive crossing so the passengers could take in the view. The river was running in a steeply-sided ballast canyon and about a mile further, there were two bald eagle eaglets, a male and a female, in a nest built on an outcropping on the canyon walls. The eaglets' parents were both there on the return trip. This trip was truly a nature show as we had already seen Spanish hawks as well as several other types about which our car attendant Lorelei was most knowledgeable.
The height of the walls were increasing the further we travelled into the canyon and the area were now crossing was a pre-historic lake bed. Off to the northeast was Block Mountain, which had some bright red sandstone in it then we passed the gauging station at river level as we slowly descended towards it. The train ran out on a shelf above the river under a monocline fold at Milepost 31. I wished Maureen Angle, the most wonderful science teacher I work with at McFadden Intermediate, was here to see this as she loves geology and would truly enjoy the journey through this impressive scenery. We passed beneath more cliff dwellings high across the river, which were all connected by tunnels as I learned, then went by Elephant Rock across the river and if you looked at the correct time, it did look like an elephant and the trunk at Milepost 28.3.
The train continued through Sycamore, also called "Little Grand Canyon", and we met a track inspection vehicle in the siding. Sycamore Canyon joins the Verde Canyon near here and we were in the middle of the Sycamore wilderness. With all the colours, natural beauty and history, I could easily see why this was all preserved and it was a continuous nature show as my eyes kept scanning the new visions. The next vista of importance high above the cliff at Milepost 24 was Turtle Rock.
In and around Milepost 23, there were some interesting rock outcroppings on the left of the train then at Milepost 22.5, we entered the 680 foot curved tunnel blasted through solid limestone and came to the end of the Verde River Canyon, crossed the Perkinsville trestle before arriving at Perkinsville, where the old Santa Fe station still stands.
The engines ran around the train here and before we left, the train was reversed past the station so everyone could see it. I bought some cookies and a root beer then started to write the details of this journey while it was fresh in my mind. I finished but and went back into the open car to just enjoy the beauty of the rest of the Verde River Canyon with no distractions. In all of my 670,000 rail miles of travel, the Verde Canyon was one of the most beautiful trips and I would highly recommend it to anyone. We returned to Clarkdale before driving home.
I bought four Arby's roast beef sandwiches to have during my drive then entered Interstate 17, taking that to Arizona Highway 74 to Morristown, and US 60 to Interstate 10, until Palm Desert where my car died. I managed to get it off the freeway but at an exit with no phone. I was taken by a nice man to a Rite Aid where I called the Auto Club but since this was Saturday night and no way to have it fixed locally, I decided to have it towed to Lee's Auto Safety in Garden Grove. Once there, the driver dropped me off at the Grand Avenue exit of California Highway 22 and I walked home.
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