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Williams junction az

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Williams junction az
Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Monday, October 23, 2017 10:15 AM

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

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Posted by SSW9389 on Monday, October 23, 2017 11:25 AM

https://www.amtrak.com/stations/wmj

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Posted by PNWRMNM on Monday, October 23, 2017 12:47 PM

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

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Monday, October 23, 2017 4:59 PM

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

 

hey Mac, sorry hear people would beat up your wife for bad experiences on Amtrak. I been riding Amtrak since the beginning. I expect the worst, any thing above that exceeds my expectations.  Unfortunately the world is full of complainers. I have nothing but great experiences at the hotels and railroad.

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

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Posted by PNWRMNM on Monday, October 23, 2017 9:41 PM

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

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Posted by MidlandMike on Monday, October 23, 2017 10:30 PM

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.

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 8:59 AM

Thanks guys for all the info.

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Posted by SSW9389 on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 9:38 AM

Brett Wirick's page has a lot of information on Northern Arizona. See http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/bnsf/bnsf.html 

Former Flagstaff resident

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 12:19 PM

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

 

great stuff thanks.

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Posted by mudchicken on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 6:36 PM

Diningcar knows just anout every rock and tree there.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Thursday, December 14, 2017 9:06 AM

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

 

Which Grand Canyon hotel? I see two on the maps here-https://goo.gl/maps/1FBU8cMMo5D2

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Posted by ROBERT WILLISON on Thursday, December 14, 2017 12:09 PM

Me,I'll be staying in the Grand canyon railroad hotel in Williams.

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Posted by PNWRMNM on Thursday, December 14, 2017 2:25 PM
Yes, you want Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. Mac

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