Outside the wood-framed windows, the modern world of cellular phone towers and SUVs racing down Interstate 40 begins to slip away. Ariz. From Phoenix, take Interstate 17 north to Flagstaff. From there, take Interstate 40 west to Williams. The depot is at 235 N. Grand Canyon Blvd. Driving distance is about 180 miles.
Passengers can watch a Wild West skit at the depot before their departure.
The train will stop briefly on its return to allow actors dressed as train robbers to board. We will have also gotten a glimpse of another era, when travel was more of a leisurely event, as you chug past miles of ponderosa pines and high desert with an occasional view of the snowcapped San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Today, just a few months shy of the railway's 100th anniversary, the updated version is providing a throwback thrill for dozens of passengers each day, more than 150,000 each year. Railway officials say the riders come for many reasons. There's the canyon, of course, but there's also the view from the train, which includes the occasional sight of antelope and elk bounding through the fields.