Train watching trip between Flagstaff and Albuquerque - Trains Magazine
About 55- 60 miles east of Flagstaff is "Winslow, Arizona", as in the song (by the Eagles ?). There, a former Fred Harvey House hotel & restaurant that was operated in conjunction with the Santa Fe has been restored in the last 10 -12 years and reopened as La Posada. It is on the northern side of the BNSF main line, and of course right next to / west of the Amtrak station there. It has all kinds of history in the architect, is a Registered National Historic Landmark, that kind of thing. Here's the link for their website:
Full disclosure: I have no personal experience there (yet) - this morning, I was looking them up for a possible trip out that way maybe this June, too ! (actually, a route something like from Yellowstone National Park down through Salt Lake City to Phoenix - see below). I'd recommend doing a "Google Maps" search for "La Posada, Winslow, Arizona", and then check out the link for "La Posada Hotel", esp. the "127 reviews" part. It will also proovide a map which shows exactly where it is in Winslow. Maybe someone else here will have some comments and reviews.
As far as the rail traffic: Back in mid-Sept. 2008 when my daughter moved from Denver to Phoenix, she drove I-40 West from Albuquerque to Flagstaff (the railroad gets close to I-40 about 30 miles west of Albuquerque, as someone else indicated above). She didn't believe me when I told her that she'd be seeing trains about every 30 to 40 minutes, and that she'd have trouble keeping up with some of them. Well, she was impressed, and now she believes. She also remarked on seeing 2 or 3 trains - mostly double-stack intermodalsand multi-level/ auto-racks - at the same time on the stretches with long views.
Let's see who else posts here - there are a couple of Forum members who frequent that area, I believe. If not, then I suppose we can exchange planning tips and trip reports here.
- Paul North.
"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
