I know we have at least one member of this list who is/was with the Grand Canyon RR. My wife and I are planning a trip to her folks in central Arizona, and having already ridden the Verde Canyon RR and chased the Alcos of the Grand Canyon, we'd like to ride behind and/or chase the steam they offer. However, the usual boilerplate "steam operates Memorial Day to Labor Day" is dangerously close to the cutoff dates for our travel bargains on Southwest and Amtrak.....

So we need to know 1) exactly what dates which steam gets introduced this summer season so my in-laws can get bitten by the steam bug; 2) whether I stand a chance in you-know-where-that's-as-hot-as-the-firebox-of-4960 of getting any behind-the-scenes escorted shop tour without inadvertently feeding the shop-yard dogs that eat F40-parts raiders. Like most RyPN'ers, I'd be much more fascinated with talking shop in the GCRY shops than adding yet more mileage to my rail mileage maps behind yet more F40's if that should be the case.

Whoever you are, drop me a PM off-forum and let me know ASAP so we can see if we can schedule a Grand Canyon RR trip into our usually full schedule. (Nothing like picking prickly pear cactus fruit for wine, touring real ghost railroads/towns, rolling over the goat path known as the Senator Highway, and touring inside abandoned copper mines for high Arizona fun........)

Of course, if you wish to tell us that your "new" steamer gets broken in that weekend, feel free to share that with everyone else as well.

Thanks in advance!

There are no shop tours. When my wife and I were there over the summer, I begged and pleaded. No dice unless you know someone, I guess.
As for when steam is running, they usually schedule you to ride down behind one mode (steam) and return by the other (diesel), or vice versa. Hint: When you get there, ask to switch seats. There's a fee in high peak times, but you can do it. We rode behind #29 both ways!

When I was there, it was round trip behind the 4960.

Never heard of them running one way steam other way diesel...

Might be possible of the train lenght exceeds the station area at South Rim, but I find that odd overal, considering they still have only a limited area to deboard passengers, and it is a multiple track station.

I could be wrong however.

P51 -

There are some advantages to steam one way and diesel the other. We rode behind 29 up to the Canyon and diesel on return. BUT, I made sure I was down at the Grand Canyon station when the 29 returned and got some nice shots of her working as she left. The diesel train then returned later.

And BTW, I got lucky because the next day I got to photograph the 4960 leaving Williams.

Les

When I rode in 2004, it was steam both ways behind #29. I had been hoping to see 4960 strut her stuff, but one of the crew told me she came off the rotation the day before I arrived when 29's turn came up.

The day after we rode, however, they sent two trains north. My notes say the coach section went out behind 29 and a diesel, with two more diesels pulling the first-class section.

I did not see either train return, but maybe they rotated the power at the canyon so as to give the first-class passengers a ride behind steam? (As I recall, the premium for first-class was fairly steep, and they probably want to get what they pay for.)

Last year there were early trips and later trips each day. One was steam powered, the other Diesel.

Oh, you get what you pay for in first class ...steam or diesel....for sure.

Riding the dome car on that line, priceless.

I get your point, but we stayed at the hotel the night before, so I was able to get good shots of #29 in action. Staying at the El Tovar the following night, we found that the steam powered consist got back to Williams quite a bit earlier than the one we were scheduled to ride. I just wish I could have seen (or better yet ridden behind) 4960.

Hi,

I assume they still do the obnoxious train robbery on the trip back to Williams.

Cheers, Roger

They can help you.

p51 -

Ahhh, yes! But here I have the advantage because I got to ride behind, and photograph, the 4960 when she was what she was....pure CB&Q!

Les

Yeah, we rode the dome going up, and the business car going back (my wife and I were the youngest people on the obs car who weren't with our parents). I think the others riding the car with us must have thought we were independently wealthy or something, they made it seem like you had to own the RR to ride back there. Yeah, it's pricey but for a 'once in a lifetime' trip, I think it was money VERY well spent!

I rode behind 4960 several years ago -- it wasn't the first time. I had traveled behind it several times on the old CB&Q.

See my story at http://www.justsaygo.com/destinations/gcr.html

The ticket order takers will not know what days, which locomotive will be on the train...But they can help you with your ticket purchase and give you the exact dates of steam operation.

Steam season is memorial day though labor day. #29 right now is going to start out the season as work is still going on on #4960.