The historic Grand Canyon Railway will return to its roots — almost — six times this summer when it offers steam train excursions to Grand Canyon National Park. The steam-powered excursions will be much the same as they were more than a century ago with one big exception — the famous steam locomotive No. 4960 is fueled by waste vegetable oil (WVO).
The roundtrip Saturday steam excursions will be offered on May 4, June 1, July 6, Aug. 3, Sept. 7 and Sept. 21. Grand Canyon Railway offers five classes of service beginning at the coach class rate of $75 for adults and $45 for children. The other four classes of service include first class, observation dome, luxury parlor and luxury dome. Children 15 and under are permitted only in the coach and first class cars.
Grand Canyon Railway has two operable steam locomotives that have been restored to like-new working condition. Locomotive No. 4960 was built in 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. It operated a freight- and coal-hauling service for the Midwestern Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad until the late 1950s and made its first official run on the Grand Canyon line in 1996.
No. 4960 has been modified to use recycled waste vegetable oil for fuel, and reclaimed rain and snow melt – collected during the winter and Northern Arizona’s rainy season – are used in the boiler for steam.
Grand Canyon Railway offers a variety of packages that include the roundtrip train plus overnight accommodations at Grand Canyon Railway Hotel as well as Xanterra-operated lodges in Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon Railway is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Reservations can be made online at www.thetrain.com or by calling (800) THE-TRAIN (800-843-8724).
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