Verde Canyon Train Ride out of Clarkdale, AZ

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Today we scheduled to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad train.

The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in the U.S. state of Arizona. The passenger excursion line operates on 20 miles of tracks of the Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, a shortline. Wikipedia

Here we are near the loading area.  We did not take this picture until we were leaving.

Here we go.  This is just a short distance down the track.  This shows we were towards the end of the train.  However there were probably 4 more cars behind us.  Now remember this was a 4 hour train ride.  It was hard to choose which pictures to put in this post.

There were so many beautiful sites.

This was our first glimpse of the red rocks.  The turquoise/blue are the 2 engines at the front of the train.

The train tracks ran along side the Verde River most of the time.

There were several houses in the middle of nowhere.  They only had dirt roads to get to their houses.

The train crosses several trestles.  This is the first one we crossed.  Again you can tell we are near the back of the train.

This is the second trestle we crossed. You can tell it is a different trestle by the supports.

This is some interesting rock formations near the river.

Here is a short video of the river flowing.

Another view of the red rocks.  It has been a beautiful ride.

Look how narrow this part of the railway was.  Tic is obviously looking towards the front of the train.

Here is the back part of the train.  There is actually a caboose at the end.  The exclusive caboose is designed for one private party of six or fewer adults. Its luxurious appointments include over-sized chairs, large picture windows, cupola seating for a birds-eye view and private outdoor viewing platforms. A personal valet pours your complimentary Champagne upon boarding and serves sumptuous freshly-prepared appetizers. Your choice of premium alcoholic beverages is available for purchase.  
 

Here is a third trestle we are getting ready to cross.  The picture above is zoomed in.

This picture is not zoomed in as the engines approach the trestle.

This is a close up of some of the red rocks we passed.  It all looks so fragile yet has been standing for millions of years.

During the ride our hostess told us that the 2 rocks in top center of the picture were named 2 lizards.  They have a good imagination.

Tic took this closeup of the rocks in the previous picture.  This is a sample of rocks hanging with out any support under them.  There were many rocks like this.

There was a tunnel on our route.  This is as we enter.

Our car has just entered into to the tunnel.

This rock formation looks like a guardian angel watching over everyone.

Here's a picture as we cross another trestle over the river.

Here we are at the end of the line at Perkinsville, which is actually a private ranch owned by the Perkins.  This part of the ranch was used in the movie When the West Was Won.

This is the remainder of the water tower.  It is said they blew it up in making the movie, but that scene got cut and the water tower was never rebuilt.

This is the Perkins cabin.  We were told they still come out periodically.  There was a man weed-eating around that big tree.

This is part of the pasture land you could see from the train.

This was the train depot used in the movie.

 

At the end of the line, the engines were moved from the front of the train to the back of the train. The video is showing the engines as they pass by us headed for the back of the train.

Both of the engines have a bald eagle painted on the side.

Notice the engines are next to the caboose now.

We are headed back now and the rock formations look different from this direction.

More unique rock formations.

Here we are entering the tunnel on the way back.

Here we are at this narrow part of the track again.

More gorgeous views on the way back.

I think this canyon was called Black Rock Canyon.

On the return trip these striations stood out.

We passed this cliff dwelling on the way out, but could not get a good picture.  Tic got a great picture on the way back.  This was the biggest dwelling of several in this area.

We rode in the outdoor car all the way. The temperatures were wonderful and we enjoyed the views.