To the delight of the rail-fan world and kids of all ages, Grand Canyon Railway just announced that No. 4960 will celebrate its 100th birthday by pulling the regular scheduled passenger train from Williams to South Rim, Grand Canyon on Saturday, August 5, 12 and 19. The steam engine will also run on select days in July and through October. A special birthday celebration will be held for the iconic locomotive on August 12 in Williams, AZ. The Grand Canyon Railway (GCR), hailed as perhaps the last daily standard gauge U.S. railroad to run steam engines in scheduled regular service, is a rare sight and sound to behold. Reservations are strongly recommended as people will come the world over to see this engine run (and always have).
The Birthday Party Event
On Saturday, August 12, the Railway will throw a birthday party for the big steam engine with a fun line-up of events and activities:
8:00 am – Aaron Johnson, author of the children’s book series called “National Park Mysteries” whose latest book takes place at the Grand Canyon, will be holding a book signing inside the Grand Canyon Railway Depot. The first 100 ticketed children will receive a complimentary copy of the book..
9:15 am – Official proclamation by Williams Mayor Don Dent
9:30 am – The train, pulled by 4060, will depart for Grand Canyon National Park
11:45 am-3:15 pm – Special displays and demonstrations at the Grand Canyon Depot during layover
3:30 pm – Train departs for Williams; all ticketed passengers will receive a complimentary piece of commemorative house-made fudge.
5:45 pm – Pipes & Drums will welcome 4960 back home to Williams.
And there may be more! Visit www.thetrain.com for additional and updated information.
Why “The French Fry Express?”
The engine is both unique and famous for running on waste vegetable oil (think oil used for french fries) and harvested snow melt. Grand Canyon Railway is also the first tourism railway in the U.S. to receive ISO 14001 third-party certification of its environmental management system. It’s estimated that the GCR reduces the number of cars in the national park to the tune of around 70,000 per year.
No. 4960 was built in 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia for the ex-CB&Q (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad). In the late 1950s, it was selected to pull “fan trip” trains on the railroad until the end of the steam excursion program in 1966. Purchased by Grand Canyon Railway in 1989, the locomotive has been in active service since 1996 after undergoing an extensive rebuild and being converted to burn waste vegetable oil.
For more information on No. 4960, the birthday festivities on August 12, extra scheduled runs and to book your tickets on Grand Canyon Railway, visit thetrain.com or call 1-800-843-8724.
Images courtesy of Grand Canyon Railway
