Hello everyone, I would like to suggest that we get an American heritage railway on Train Sim World 4. I say that the Grand Canyon Railway would be a great one. The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage line in the state of Arizona that runs 64 miles between the town of Williams and the Grand Canyon along ex- Santa Fe Railway trackage.The railway owns 2 operational steam locomotives, EX CB&Q locomotive #4960 and former LS&I locomotive #29. The railroad also rosters a good amount of diesel electric locomotives consisting of a single ex- ATSF GP7 , a couple of ex- Canadian National and Via Rail MLW FPA- 4 locomotives and 5 ex Amtrak and New Jersey Transit F40PH locomotives. History of the Grand Canyon Railway: In 1901, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railway completed building a branch line from Williams to Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim. The first scheduled train to carry paying passengers of the Grand Canyon Railway arrived from Williams on September 17 of that year. The 64-mile (103-kilometer) long trip cost $3.95, and naturalist John Muir later commended the railroad for its limited environmental impact. To accommodate travelers, the Santa Fe designed and built the El Tovar Hotel, located just 20 feet (6.1 meters) from the Canyon Rim. El Tovar opened its doors in January 1905. Unfortunately though competition from both the highways and airlines would cause passenger train operations to cease in 1965 and eventually freight service was cut in 1974. In 1988, the line was bought by Max and Thelma Biegert. The railway was restored and in 1989 operations began as a separate company, independent of the Santa Fe. The first run of the restored railroad was on September 17, 1989, commemorating the September 17 debut of the original railroad. In September 21, 2006. The line was sold to Xanterra Travel collection. Xanterra is the corporate name and identity for what was originally known as the Fred Harvey Company, a company with restaurant, hotel and service ties to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway as far back as 1876. Xanterra said that it intended to keep all 480 of the railway's current employees, and planned to focus on growing the business and increasing the coordination between the railway and Xanterra's other services in the Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim. In the press release, the railway and Xanterra reported over 225,000 passengers and over $38 million in revenue in calendar year 2005. The purchase of the GCR included all of the railway's assets, depots, hotels, RV park, rolling stock, shops and the land on which the 65-mile (105 km) line operates over. Steam locomotive operations on the Grand Canyon Railway were suspended in September 2008. Xanterra cited extra diesel fuel costs and environmental concerns as the reason for the decision, pointing out that each roundtrip of a steam locomotive consumed 1,450 gallons of diesel fuel (compared to the 550 gallons used by a diesel-electric locomotive) and 1,200 gallons of water. Industry experts said that ridership losses due to the late 2000s recession and rising fuel prices due to the 2000s energy crisis likely contributed to the decision. Steam locomotive operations were eventually revived and returned to service on September 19, 2009. Xanterra converted the steam locomotives to operate using waste vegetable oilcollected from restaurants across Northern Arizona and installed a rainwater collection system on the maintenance building to fill boilers when available. Since 2011, special occasion trips, and at least one roundtrip per month during the summer is operated using a steam locomotive. In 2017, the Grand Canyon Railway added to its fleet of diesel locomotives, purchasing two additional F40PH units from New Jersey Transit. As of 2021, the Grand Canyon Railway only has two steam locomotives left in their roster. In 2019, the GCR purchased three Ex-Rio Grande business cars,[7] and since then, the GCR used them exclusively for private charter service, with the option of being pulled by steam or diesel. Historical significance: The entire Grand Canyon Railway has been added to the National Register of Historic Places for being associated with events that made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the United States. In the nomination to the register, the railroad was credited with, "Opening up of a large area north of Williams, the building of the Grand Canyon National Park facilities at the south rim, establishment of a solid tourist trade in the American Southwest, support of cattle and sheep ranching, copper and uranium mining, lumber industries, and the building of a sub culture around the railroad that continues to this day." The Grand Canyon Depot was added to the register on September 6, 1974, while the Williams Depot and the rest of the railroad between Williams and the Grand Canyon National Park was added as a Historic District on August 23, 2000. The Grand Canyon Depot was also designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 28, 1987, for its outstanding historical significance. Current operations: The railroad carries hundreds of passengers to and from the canyon every day, totaling about 225,000 people per year. The restored Santa Fe Railway Stationin Williams serves as the southern terminus for the Grand Canyon Railway and the Grand Canyon Depot, owned by the National Park Service, is the northern terminus for passengers of the line. Most trains are pulled by the Railway's fleet of F40PH diesel locomotives. They were regeared to run at freight locomotive speeds and have been redesignated as F40FH. Steam locomotives pull trains on special holidays and the first Saturday of the peak travel season (March through October). The Grand Canyon Railway's fleet of historic ALCO FA diesel locomotives also see occasional use. Passengers ride to and from the Grand Canyon in 1950s era climate-controlled coaches. During the peak travel season, 1920s era Pullman Harriman style coaches with open windows are also available. The railroad adds to the Old West experience by having actors dressed as bandits stage a mock train robbery during the return trip from the Grand Canyon to Williams. The Grand Canyon Railway offers at least one daily round trip of its Williams Flyer train between Williams and the Grand Canyon every day except on Christmas Day, December 25. During peak demand periods a second train departure is added. The Grand Canyon also does a Polar express service during the winter seasons. Grand Canyon railway schedules: Train Schedule Station Time Leave Williams 9:30 am Arrive Grand Canyon 11:45 am Layover (time at Grand Canyon) Leave Grand Canyon 3:30 pm Arrive Williams 5:45 pm Second Train Schedule (peak demand periods only) Station Time Leave Williams 10:30 am Arrive Grand Canyon 12:45 pm Layover (time at Grand Canyon) Leave Grand Canyon 4:30 pm Arrive Williams 6:45 pm Locomotive pictures: CB&Q #4960 Locomotive #29 One of the F40 units. One of the FPA-4 units. A picture of the depot in Williams Arizona Here is a video of a double header Steam engine excursion and a BNSF OCS train the railway did on their anniversary. Note I do not own this content. All credit rightfully goes to one who uploaded this video. I want to have the scenarios include a double header excursion, a Polar Express service, and a BNSF OCS service. It would be easy to add the OCS service since they can add the ES44C4 from Cajon Pass and it would be nice to see some BNSF passenger cars added as well. They could also layer Cajon Pass onto the route since the Grand Canyon Railway line passes underneath the BNSF Seligman Subdivision in Williams. That is all I need to say. Also, a source for additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_Railway
Santa Fe #3751 has done excursions over the GCRY, so she could be added as a DLC to this route and also Cajon Pass. I'd love the BNSF OCS train, too.
