I'll be heading to the Grand canyon via Amtrak and the gcr. Was wondering if thier are any good rail fanning areas in William junction? The Amtrak station perhaps?
Thanks in advance
https://www.amtrak.com/stations/wmj
ROBERT WILLISON I'll be heading to the Grand canyon via Amtrak and the gcr. Was wondering if thier are any good rail fanning areas in William junction? The Amtrak station perhaps? Thanks in advance
My wife is a manager at the Grand Canyon Hotel so I have here stories of disgrunteled ATK passengers unloading on hotel staff, who of course have nothing to do with ATK, and have looked at the area on Google Earth.
Williams Jct is one end of a many mile line relocation done in the late 1950s early 1960s. The hotel is along side the former main line, which is now part of the branch to Phoenix. The BNSF main line is very busy, she complains of train whistles at a grade crossing not to far away from where she lives. Williams Jct is 4-5 miles away from the hotel and until the end of the year the hotel runs a shuttle out to it for hotel guests. The Jct is out in the desert with nothing particular to recommend it.
The BNSF main line is a mile or so north of the hotel and crosses over the GCRY on a grade separated fill. If I were going railfanning in the area I would rent a car so I could explore the route and find a spot I liked for pix. Take lots of water!
Mac McCulloch
PNWRMNM ROBERT WILLISON I'll be heading to the Grand canyon via Amtrak and the gcr. Was wondering if thier are any good rail fanning areas in William junction? The Amtrak station perhaps? Thanks in advance My wife is a manager at the Grand Canyon Hotel so I have here stories of disgrunteled ATK passengers unloading on hotel staff, who of course have nothing to do with ATK, and have looked at the area on Google Earth. Williams Jct is one end of a many mile line relocation done in the late 1950s early 1960s. The hotel is along side the former main line, which is now part of the branch to Phoenix. The BNSF main line is very busy, she complains of train whistles at a grade crossing not to far away from where she lives. Williams Jct is 4-5 miles away from the hotel and until the end of the year the hotel runs a shuttle out to it for hotel guests. The Jct is out in the desert with nothing particular to recommend it. The BNSF main line is a mile or so north of the hotel and crosses over the GCRY on a grade separated fill. If I were going railfanning in the area I would rent a car so I could explore the route and find a spot I liked for pix. Take lots of water! Mac McCulloch
This will be my fourth trip to the gcr hotel and the first during the winter. ( I'm planning a late February trip and then on to Phoenix to watch my Indian's in spring training.
This will be the first time I'll have a rental car. I normally stopped at the grand canyon enroute to southern CA.
The car will give me the flexibility to explore old route 66 and the BNSF route. Would you recommend going east or continuing West towards Kingman?
Thanks for your insight!!!!
Rob
Robert,
My Arizona geography and scenery is weak, but with that understanding, if you head east from Williams toward Flagstaff you are climbing into the woods and the crest of the Arizona Divide which is quite near Flagstaff. Go east if you like forest scenes. In Feb you could see snow.
West of Williams Jct the line is generally descending to the Colorado River, so would tend to get warmer and drier as you went West. Go west if you like warmer weather and rock and desert scenery.
Check out the Verde Canyon Railroad. I do not know if they run in Feb, but their website would tell you that. I do not know where you are thinking about renting a car, but they may be cheaper at Flagstaff than at Williams.
Mac
I flew into Flagstaff and rented a car at the airport which is within 5 miles of town. Travel sites show there are rentals also in Flagstaff. I'm not finding rentals in Williams.
A great train watching spot is the trackside courtyard of the La Posada Hotel adjacent to the Winslow ATK platform (the hotel is the waiting room) about an hour east of Flagstaff. The hotel is across from the East yard leads, where trains line up waiting their turn to get on to the main line. I stayed a couple of nights at the hotel, which is a restored Fred Harvey operation.
Thanks guys for all the info.
Brett Wirick's page has a lot of information on Northern Arizona. See http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/bnsf/bnsf.html
Former Flagstaff resident
SSW9389 Brett Wirick's page has a lot of information on Northern Arizona. See http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/bnsf/bnsf.html Former Flagstaff resident
Diningcar knows just anout every rock and tree there.
Which Grand Canyon hotel? I see two on the maps here-https://goo.gl/maps/1FBU8cMMo5D2
Me,I'll be staying in the Grand canyon railroad hotel in Williams.
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