The 64-mile steam train service from Williams to Grand Canyon’s South Rim began in 1901, when a ticket cost $3.95 – a bargain compared to the eight-hour $15 stagecoach ride along bumpy dirt roads.
In 2008, Grand Canyon Railway announced they were running their vintage steam locomotives on the line for the last time. Each round trip consumed 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of water.
Happily, the following year they found a way to restart a more environmentally friendly service. A small amount of diesel is still needed to fire up the boiler. But both their vintage locos can run on any type of liquid fuel.
Once at running temperature, the steam locos now run on waste vegetable oil…. which comes from the kitchen at the Grand Canyon Railway’s restaurant, and a supplier who collects waste oil from restaurants in Flagstaff and Phoenix.
To mitigate effects of any lubricant leaks along the track, the engines’ fittings and bearings are greased with mostly biodegradable products - including one from a company producing lubricant from animal fats specifically for steam trains.
Water comes from a rainwater runoff collection system. Stored in empty rail cars to reduce evaporation losses, it’s supplemented by potable water from the City of Williams only when necessary. The engines work better on rainwater, which contains fewer dissolved minerals.
Trains run daily to the Grand Canyon, but an ecofriendly steam locomotive runs only on the first Saturday of every month, from March through October.
This Earth Note was written by Diane Hope and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
