1. The Verde Canyon Railway, Cottonwood, Arizona.
Running from the west end of Arizona's beautiful Verde valley, the scenery rivals the Silverton, with a river clear enough to see 24" carp, cliff dwellings, bald eagles and great blue herons along its tracks. Diesel with a hodge-podge of passenger equipment , a fine ride in a district with lots of mining and railroad heritage. Customer service: very good. Local accomodations and services: excellent .
2.Cumbres & Toltec. Hands down the most authentic,interesting and complete railroad in North America. It is also the most troubled, hampered by a long route that results in perennially cumbersome and very confusing scheduling problems, not to mention a remote location. The train is more fun than most, as passenger movement is not restricted. Other railroads insist on passengers staying in their seat most of the trip.Backchannel me for an opinion on customer service, especially ticketing. Local accomodations and services: fair. There are several good restaurants,some excellent stores offering unique products, a drug store, grocery and convneience stores and a number of good hotels in Chama. Some businesses close before passengers get back ,and there is almost nothing to do in Chama after the train arrives.
3. D&SNG. The granddaddy of them all, this is a tightly-run operation. The scenery in Animas Canyon is magnificent, though development in the Animas valley and its popularity has robbed it of some of its charm . Services : good to very good. Ticketing is perhaps the best run operation in the tourst r.r.biz. Local accomodations and services: excellent.
4.East Broad Top.Though too little of the original railroad is operating, EBT runs through beautiful surroundings with fabulous original equipment and a complete terminal in Orbisonia . I encountered a ticket problem and a surly conductor on my last visit. The Friends of the East Broad Top is an exemplary preservation organization and I strongly recommend joining this fine group. Local accomodations and services : almost nonexistent.
Of the smaller presevation/revival railroads I like the Sumpter Valley operation, Roaring Camp and the Loop . Roaring Camp is a personal favorite with its fascinating equipment, short but spectacular route and a terminal that is a perfect example of what California narrow gauge may hawe looked like. Both SVR and the RC&BT are railfan-friendly operations. I would love to ride the WP&YR but no money to get up there. By all accounts it is spectacular.
