Three Sundays evenings ago, I was sitting on a Delta bird waiting to depart ORD. Being an "elite" (albeit lowest level) member of Delta's frequent flier program that was flying at an off-peak time, I had been upgraded and was in seat 3A.
I was enjoying my complementary predeparture drink and talking with the passengers around me -- it is amazing how civil air travel can be when you have adequately sized seats and sufficient overhead bin space! It seemed that at least half of the first class cabin lived on the north side of Atlanta, just down the street from one another. (The remaining passengers were making international connections at ATL.) After a few minutes of conversation about neighborhoods and which schools the kids attend, the conversations shifted to vacation trips.
The woman in 4B (behind me) began talking about her family trip to see the Grand Canyon and how they rode the train there. Her seatmate in 4A had never been to the Grand Canyon, so 4B became quite animated and went into considerable detail about the trip. She actually spent more time talking about the railroad than about seeing the Canyon itself -- she talked about getting on in Williams, the accommodations, how friendly the onboard crew members were, and how great an experience it was. She mentioned that it was possible to stay overnight at the Canyon and come back the next day, etc., etc., etc. -- she was beginning to sound like an Xanterra reservation agent, but I figured she was not because she never mentioned the green aspects of the operation.
Anyway, she talked and talked and talked about the railroad, probably for a good 5 to 10 minutes. In that time, she never mentioned steam locomotives, nor the lack there of!
In another thread that has gone negative, posters are talking about how they think the D&SNG, the C&TS, and the WPY&R are better tourist lines. I disagree: I don't think we can say those railroads provide a better experience for tourists. Heck, being narrow gauge, tourists riding in standard class accomodations are crammed in tiny seats and have to navigate narrow aisleways. Lest you think I'm kidding, even the D&SNG's website says they have tiny seats:
Quote
Coach Seating Seat width in Standard class is equal to the industry standard of an economy class plane seat. Extra space seating is available for an additional charge. Please talk to your reservation agent regarding these options.
Link:
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - Standard Class seating
So, IMHO, Mr. Wrinn is right to call the Grand Canyon the ultimate tourist railroad.
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Chris Webster
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2010 07:15PM by John West.
