Grand Canyon National Park
Colossus of canyons - the Grand Canyon is the most recognized canyon in the world. It is one of planet earth's greatest landmarks and the only one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to be located in North America. More than 4 million people visit the canyon each year making it the most visited national park in the United States. People of all races and countries from around the world come to see the canyon, yet it's grandeur and magnificence seem to affect all of humanity in a similar manner, binding us together with a recognition of its timelessness and our short existence. Carved through the millennia by a single thread of water, it seems as though you have to constantly refocus your eyes, and your thoughts, to absorb the view and its meaning. With each passing hour, visitors are witness to a new and different look as the elements and colors constantly change, yet stay the same.
Grand Canyon National Park is a fascinating place and people have wanted to experience standing on the rim first hand for as long as people could travel, however, it wasn't made a national park until 1919. Grand Canyon National Park of today owes its existence to the foresight of earlier generations who wanted to protect it as an American landmark that could be shared for decades to come. Perhaps they recognized the Grand Canyon as a metaphor for America itself - vast, untamed, endless possibility, rough, beautiful, full of character.
The Grand Canyon's Train
Grand Canyon country was a far-off distant land in the late 1800s. Only the most adventurous of explorers could rough the elements to see it with its remote location in northern Arizona, still a territory at the time. But Americans were on the move and going west. American ingenuity was hard at work in the form of the railroads, being built and tying the nation together. The main line west was built from Chicago to Los Angeles and it passed through Williams, Arizona.
The
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad started a spur line north from Williams
going toward the huge chasm with thoughts that something so colorful must
be rich with ore. But the bet didn't pay off and railroad was left empty
handed. However, there was much interest in the fabled canyon so the railroad
began advertising the Grand Canyon as a destination "en route to or
from winterless California" and people started coming. As did dignitaries
like President Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent admirer of the canyon, who helped
the promotion by proclaiming the canyon as "the one
great sight every American should see."
Roosevelt's environmental fervor would help shape the policy to make the
canyon a national park and preserve it for future generations.
The President arrived at the canyon the way the rest of the traveling public did - by rail. In fact, 44,000 people visited the Grand Canyon when it was designated a national park in 1919. Through the roaring '20s, the depression-ravaged '30s and war years of the '40s, the rail line provided the lifeline to the storied Grand Canyon. However, in an ironic twist, America was on the move again - but this time in their cars. America had expanded again, this time with Interstate highways that tied the nation together. With the rise of the automobile, and later air travel, came the demise of long distance passenger rail service in the US. In 1956, visitation to Grand Canyon National Park surpassed one million, most of whom arrived in their car. The rail line was retired by Santa Fe in 1968 as visitation to the canyon neared 2 million per year.
Preserving a Piece of America
The Grand Canyon Railway was brought back to life in 1989 and so too, was
a piece of American history that had been lost. Today, it's the only operating
railroad servicing a national park in the United States. Just as today's
Americans and international 
visitors
have the chance to experience the sights and sounds of Grand Canyon National
Park, they can also experience what it was like to arrive at the canyon by
rail as their grandparents and great-grandparents did: how the anticipation
amongst the travelers filled the air as the train departed from Williams
Depot knowing they
were almost there; how the topography changed as the train passes through
pine forests and the high desert, the San Franciso Peaks in the background
to the east; how the train finally pulled up to the
Grand Canyon Depot in the shadow of the El Tovar Hotel, built by the Railroad
in 1905; how they must have walked up the steps as though they were climbing
the steps to a natural shrine; and how they walked to the rim to look upon
the magnificent sight; and how the feeling is the same today as it was in
1901.
