I just got home this afternoon from a trip to Arizona's world-famous Grand Canyon Railway. It was an amazing experience with great scenery (especially the Grand Canyon itself; breathtaking, by the way), humor, bandits who stage a fake train robbery, music, and of course, quite a few trains, both from the GCRR and BNSF. The 64 mile Grand Canyon RR line was completed in 1901 as a branch of the Santa Fe RR from Williams, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The line saw ATSF passenger services until the late 1960s. Freight trains plied the line for a few more years. Now the line is a world-famous tourist attraction. BNSF's Seligman Subdivision is a 293.5 mile long section of BNSF's former Santa Fe Chicago-LA Southern Transcon Line. The line passes through towns along the famous and historic Route 66. BNSF's Seligman Sub stretches from Needles, CA in the west to Winslow, AZ in the east. There are stations for Amtrak (formerly ATSF) in Needles, Kingman, Seligman, Flagstaff, and Winslow. Yards are located in Needles and Winslow, along with crew change points. The Grand Canyon Train starts in Williams and parallels the BNSF line for a short distance before heading north to the Canyon. BNSF's Seligman Sub is very busy and sees about 70-80 freight trains per day. Track speeds are a maximum of 70mph for freight trains and 90 mph for passenger trains. The track is almost all double-tracked. My proposal is a 2-in-1: The Grand Canyon RR and the BNSF Seligman Sub: Needles-Winslow. -First, the GCRR: -64 miles long -Locos: 2-8-2 #4960, 2-8-0 #29, EMD F40FHs (upgraded F40PH-2s; ex-Amtrak and ex-NJT), GP7u #1105 (ex-ATSF), Alco FPA4/FPB4 (ex-CN) -Rolling Stock: Passenger Cars, some MOW Cars; interiors needed on passenger cars Since the GCRR is a tourist RR, there wouldn't be much to do but run passengers to the Grand Canyon and back and maybe a bit of switching with GP7u #1105. There is one train each day, and a second train is run at peak demand periods. The steam locos run on special holidays and the 1st Saturday each month between March and October. There were other stops when the route was owned by the ATSF. At Christmas time, there is a Polar Express Train. The train makes a stop at the "North Pole", which is about 17 miles north of Williams. -Second: BNSF's Seligman Subdivision: Needles-Winslow: -293.5 miles (way too long for TSW4; the route could be made in sections that could be combined in the future with route extensions) TS Classic has a 1990s-era Santa Fe version of this route from Winslow-Williams (92 miles long; more doable in TSW4). We would need at least 2 (maybe 3) more extensions to make the complete Needles-Winslow route. Amtrak's Southwest Chief Long-distance passenger train runs on this route as well. -Possible Locos: BNSF ET44C4 or C44-9W, BNSF GP60/GP60M (both ATSF Patched and BNSF Heritage liveries) or B40-8W (both ATSF Patched and BNSF Heritage liveries as well), and Amtrak P42DC Genesis or Siemens ALC-42 Charger -Rolling Stock: -Coal Gondolas or Hoppers -Grain Hoppers -Tank Cars -Box Cars -Intermodal Well Cars -Spine Cars -Reefers -Cement Hoppers -Steel Coil Cars -Amtrak Superliners for SW Chief with full interiors -DLCs: ATSF 4-8-4 #3751 and/or #2926; other BNSF locos not included; ATSF loco DLCs: SD40-2, SD45, SD45-2, U36C/SF30C, C30-7, C40-8W/C41-8W, C44-9W, B40-8/B40-8W, GP38-2, GP39-2, GP30u, GP35u, GP20u, GP40X, GP50, GP60/M/B
