The railroad was financed by Senator William A. Clark and was operated by the Santee Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad. Then in 1953 the copper smelter closed down and so did the line. Today, the restored route begins at the town of Clarkdale and proceeds to Perkinsville. Then it makes its return trip back to Clarkdale. The path of the train follows the Verde River, through two national forests and the wilderness area.
Visitors see steep rock formations and diverse plant life.
The historic train has Pullaman Standard coach cars built in 1946. The cars are pulled by a FP7 engine, of which there are only 12 such models left in North America. The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors built the engines in 1953 for the Alaskan Railroad. It takes two engines to pull the train at a speed of 12 miles an hour. There are beautiful eagle paintings gracing the outside of the engines, which were painted by Doug Allen, a wildlife artist.