The Verde Canyon Railroad

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While we wintered in Sedona, Margo and I tried to visit all the interesting sites in north-central Arizona, including the Verde (“green”) Valley. This article tells the story of a memorable trip we took in a part of Arizona that one can only view from a special train.

Between the red rock country of Sedona and the mountains about 25 miles (45 km) to the south, stretches the Verde (“green”) Valley, an area of somewhat arable land and gently rolling hills. Originally settled by Native Americans, it became an agricultural and ranching area more than a century ago. Copper was discovered, and for decades Mingus mountain was exploited as the largest copper mine in the territory/State. Key to that operation was the railroad built in 1911 to haul the ore down into the Valley to a smelter in the little community of Clarkdale. It would then transport the refined copper to Drake, a transfer station on the Burlington/Santa Fe railway line north of Sedona. Its return trip would bring supplies for Clarkdale, the larger community of Cottonwood, and the mine at Jerome.

Eventually the ore supply dwindled, the smelter closed in 1953, and the little railroad lost its main raison d’être. There was still some traffic, bringing goods from Drake to Clarkdale, but gradually that petered out too. Eventually new owners from Utah saw its tourist potential and decided to make it into an excursion train, and the Verde Canyon Railroad was inaugurated in 1990 to travel what is touted as “Arizona’s other Canyon”. It doesn’t use the entire line from Clarkdale to Drake, halting instead at the site of a former ranch stop near Perkinsville. Today nearly 100,000 passengers per year take the 20 mile rail trip, and no doubt enjoy the scenery, food and refreshments as much as we did. Here is a good source of more information: http://verdecanyonrr.com/ .

The price of a trip is reasonable, the atmosphere on the train is convivial, and it’s altogether an experience not to be missed while visiting Arizona.

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