in 1901.|left In 1901 the Santa Fe Railroad completed a 64-mile (103-km) branch from
Williams, Arizona, to "Grand Canyon Village" at the South Rim of
Grand Canyon National Park. The first scheduled train arrived from Williams on September 17 of that year; branch line trains and excursions from
Southern California, Chicago, and
Texas could run directly to the Rim. On June 29, 1929, service commenced on the
Grand Canyon Limited, which became a celebrated vacation train. The westward train split at
Barstow, one
section running to
San Francisco (
Oakland-
Richmond) via the
Tehachapi Loop while the other continued to Los Angeles. In 1938 it began running via Amarillo instead of La Junta; in 1950 it became two trains west of Kansas City, one by each route. During
World War II the
Limited often ran in two or three
sections carrying troops. In later years the train lost passengers to the railroad's newer trains such as the
Super Chief with its
streamlined cars. The
Grand Canyon train lost its name in early 1968 when the railway petitioned the
ICC to drop service to
Grand Canyon National Park; the train would continue as Trains 23 and 24 until the May 1, 1971, handover of all passenger service to
Amtrak. While the Santa Fe had been willing to continue operating its famed
Chiefs and the
San Diegan, the prospect of having to operate its less successful routes until at least 1976 led it to get out of passenger service altogether. The
Grand Canyon had been an anachronism for some time. It remained a mostly
whistle stop train long after the automobile made this scheduling model obsolete for passenger service. Despite this, the Santa Fe continued operating whistle stops along the
Grand Canyon route in order to more efficiently deliver mail parcels. However, when the Post Office abruptly pulled its mail contracts in 1967, the
Grand Canyon became a particularly large albatross around the Santa Fe's neck, especially when the ICC turned down requests to withdraw the train.
Timeline • September 17, 1901: The Santa Fe inaugurates service on the
Grand Canyon Railway, running between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon. • January 1905: The Santa Fe-built
El Tovar Hotel opens its doors. The luxurious destination resort is situated just from the canyon rim. • June 29, 1929: The
Grand Canyon Limited enters service; schedule 66 hours each way between Chicago and Los Angeles. • June 4, 1938: the
Grand Canyon Limited is rerouted over the
Belen Cutoff through
Amarillo, Texas. Transit time is reduced to 60 hr 15 min westward and 58 hr 35 min eastward. • June 2, 1946: The
Grand Canyon Limited begins running via
Riverside-
Fullerton) instead of
Pasadena. • June 8, 1947: The train receives its first diesel locomotives and
stainless-steel lightweight passenger cars. The train is broken into two sections and the name is shortened to the
Grand Canyon; the schedule is reduced to 48 hours, 45 minutes. • July 1968: The Santa Fe discontinues all passenger service to the Grand Canyon National Park although the tracks are retained for freight service; the
Grand Canyon train is stripped of its name becoming simply Trains 23 and 24. • May 1, 1971: Amtrak takes over passenger service from the Santa Fe; the
Southwest Chief begins service over much of the route. • May 2, 1971: The final Train 24 that left
Los Angeles on April 30 arrives at
Dearborn Station in Chicago, ending Santa Fe revenue passenger service. • 1974: The Santa Fe abandons the Grand Canyon Railway. • September 17, 1989: Passenger service on the Grand Canyon Railway resumes after being purchased by private owners, independent from the Santa Fe in 1988. • 2002:
Santa Fe 3751, a preserved steam locomotive, runs on the line as part of the 2002
NRHS Convention. It briefly operated over the Grand Canyon Railway alongside the railroad's steam locomotives
18 and
4960. • May 16, 2012: As part of the State of Arizona's centennial celebration, a 5-day journey to the Grand Canyon took place on a special excursion train of the same name. Santa Fe 3751 and Grand Canyon Railway 4960 pulled the train with the help of an Amtrak heritage unit over the Grand Canyon Railway route. ==Equipment used==