The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in the U.S. state of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. The passenger excursion line operates on of tracks of the

Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad The Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the BNSF Railway at Drake, Arizona. The AZCR runs from Drake to Clarkdale, Arizona. An excursion train also runs on the line through ...

(AZCR), a shortline. The Verde Canyon Railroad has its depot, headquarters, and a railway museum in Clarkdale, about southwest of Sedona.

Motive power

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. In 2019, these prized locomotives were imprinted with an updated paint motif and advanced mechanics. Verde Canyon RR SW01

History

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 Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

tracks passing through

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

. The Santa Fe Railway owned and operated the branch line from 1912 to 1988. David L. Durbano bought the branch line in 1988.''Rail'', p. 2 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.''Rail'', p. 17 The AZCR track to Drake is still used for hauling freight even though the excursion line stops at Perkinsville.''Rail'', p. 30 Excursions involve a 4-hour, round trip from Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back. Scenes from '' How the West Was Won'' were filmed at Perkinsville in 1960s. The route follows the Verde River, crossing

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s and trestles, and passes through a curved

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

. Between milepost 30 and Perkinsville, most of the land along the railroad

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

is in the

Prescott National Forest The Prescott National Forest is a 1.25 million-acre (510,000 ha) United States National Forest located in north central Arizona in the vicinity of Prescott. The forest is located in the mountains southwest of Flagstaff and north of Phoenix in ...

or the

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", the ...

(across the river). The railroad carries about 100,000 passengers per year. In 2005 the Verde Canyon Railroad celebrated its one-millionth passenger, and the following month was named an "Arizona Treasure" by Arizona Governor

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 2 ...

Museum

The John Bell Railroad Museum is part of the depot complex in Clarkdale. Housed in an old boxcar, the museum displays rail artifacts and photographs, many of which came from Bell's personal collection.''Rail'', p. 7

References

Works cited

External links