This eco-friendly way to arrive at Grand Canyon National Park is back for the season.
A slip on theGrand Canyon Railway ’s No . 4960 geartrain is like jump into an Old West sentence simple machine that call for you flat to the edge of Grand Canyon National Park . Its vintage charm and the panoramic views from its historic passenger cars are obviously notable , but what truly makes this wagon train so telling is what it ’s power by : recycle French youngster oil .
Originally , of path , the 4960 ran on coal . It was born in 1923 in the City of Brotherly Love , and for decades , it hauled Fe and freight across the heartland . By the early 1960s , though , it had been put out to pasture , and was relegated to pulling expedition geartrain and carnival caravan . But in 1989 , the 4960 was snatched up by the Grand Canyon Railway ( GCR ) , where it underwent a major makeover , beam up from a ember - guzzler to a Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel - powered dynamo . Another tune - up in 2009 alter it to hunt down on recycled waste vegetable vegetable oil . Hence the playful moniker , the French Fry Express .
“ By converting the 4960 ‘ French Fry Express ’ locomotive to ladder on recycle waste veg petroleum , we have reduce locomotive emissions by one-half , ” says Sam Langner , GCR ’s Community Relations Manager . “ Initiatives like this preserve chronicle , pave a more environmentally witting hereafter , and deoxidise toxic emanation and the dependency on fossil fuel . ” ( To his latter spot , the Grand Canyon Railway keeps 50,000 cars outside of the National Park annually , which is substantial because theEPA reportsthat rail traveling accounts for just two percent of all transportation - related greenhouse gas emissions while minivan and sport utility vehicle account for 58 percent . )
Grand Canyon Railway’s No. 4960|Photograph courtesy Xanterra Travel Collection
It takes about 1,200 gallons of recycled veg oil to fuel the 4960 per round trip , and GCR is doing its piece by collecting the hooey from its own on - property restaurant — giving new signification to the phrase , solid food as fuel . junction like its flagship eating house , The Fred Harvey Restaurant , which offers mightiness galore for the 4960 thanks to a deep - fry all - you - can - eat menu that let in beer - battered cod , golden fries , potato cake , chicken nuggets and potato yearling .
“ We manoeuvre ( the 4960 ) on the first Saturday of each month March through October ; these are calledSteam Saturdays , ” Langner explain . “ There are also special runs for Earth Day , Grand Canyon Railway ’s anniversary , and 4960 ’s natal day . ” ( The GCR otherwise runs 364 days a year , shutter its doors only on Christmas . )
The 65 - mile lineal - line escapade to the Grand Canyon lead off in Williams , Arizona at the Historic Williams Depot where the train departs at 9:30 a.m. and turn back readily at 5:45 p.m.
Grand Canyon Railway’s No. 4960 train|Photo courtesy Xanterra Travel Collection
GCR offers six classes of services , begin with the economicalPullman Classticket ( $ 69.98 ) and the slightly more expensiveCoach Classticket ( $ 89.98 ) . For rider look for more leg elbow room and complimentary munchies , there ’s theFirst Classticket ( $ 169.98 ) . TheObservation Dome Classticket ( $ 199.98 ) offers an elevated train ride experience , literally and figuratively . A seat aboard the methamphetamine - enclosed streamliner is your passport to unparalleled panoramic views of the high - desert scene on your way to - and - from the Grand Canyon . Its classier counterpart , the atomic number 83 - levelLuxury Dome Classticket ( $ 239.98 ) , gives you the same pano - experience with more way to ramble .
The Sante Fe , GCR ’s 33 - seatLuxury Parlor Car , is the most exclusive ticket . A fundament onboard the swanky grownup - only rail car will set you back $ 239.98 , but it boast access to the undefendable - air rear platform where you could guess what Butch Cassidy might have been feeling as the geartrain clack valve across the tracks , an ample spreading of booze and swank foodstuffs ( e.g. , hot chocolate - dipped strawberry ) and loungey - style comfort such as lucullan tufted hind end .
The ride to the Historic Village at the Grand Canyon ’s South Rim hold a piffling over two hours . This is your jumping - off point to flock like the National Historic Landmark and Swiss chalet - inspiredEl Tovar Hotel , the rugged 7.8 - mile backcountryBright Angel Trail , and theHopi House , an Indigenous arts and foxiness market pattern after ancient pueblo dwellings that was build in 1905 .
Langner is quick to orient out that there is n’t much of a difference between the French Fry Express and any other GCR sashay — save for the fact that the 4960 ’s fumes emits a scent strongly reminiscent of an old - school burger marijuana cigarette .
