Jersey Mike's Rail Adventures: 23-01-29 PHOTOS: The Wave

Saturday, January 28, 2023

23-01-29 PHOTOS: The Wave

Since the COVID pandemic my friend group and I (along with a lot of other people it seems) decided to engage in more destination type outdoor activities. As you have seen in previous posts this includes places like Alaska and various national parks. Since sitting in giant queues tends to defeat the purpose of outdoor travel, we have specifically looked to go places away from seasonal peaks, or are difficult to access or are simply obscure. One suck Journey that managed to hit all three was to experience The Wave, a natural feature near Page, Arizona that you probably know from Instagram or a computer desktop background. Limited by lottery to a maximum of 60 visitors per day, this wind eroded sandstone amphitheater is notoriously difficult to visit for anyone with a hard and fast travel itinerary. Fortunately for groups without kids and with a retiree who can hit up every iteration of the lottery, the chance of getting an off-peak permit is actually pretty good and in October of 2022 my group hit on a date near the end of January 2023. Flying into Phoenix I was also able to get some actual rail photos driving up through Flagstaff, as well as some other non-rail points of interest such as the Glen Canyon Dam. You can see the full set of photos here ( mirror ).

Visiting The Wave is much like trying to get tickets to a live taping of SNL. You don't get to pick when you go, are assigned a date and you take it or leave it. Getting a date in the January off season was more statistically likely than the in-season, but we dodged one major bullet in the form of Super Bowl 57, sponsored by Levi's. If our date had been just one or two weeks later, travel costs into Phoenix would have skyrocketed.

For anyone looking for a place to retire, Arizona features Gila Woodpeckers, saguaro cacti and hot air balloons.

In Flagstaff the former ATSF Main Line and current Amtrak station are right in the center of town. Choosing to eat at Lumberyard Brewing allows one sufficient time to get photos of passing BNSF traffic upon activation of the San Francisco St crossing signals. The first train of that day was a westbound doublestack intermodal led by BNSF ET44AC #3788, C44-10W #7607, Ferromex SD70ACe #4052 and ES44AC4 #8082. The Amtrak station sees the passage of the daily Southwest Chief in the early morning and evening so during the day it was all freight, all the time.

I was a little late to the party for the next two trains. The first, an eastbound autorack and manifest train, was led by ET44C4 #3994, C44-9W #5234 and ES44C4 #7038. This was followed by an eastbound intermodal with ES44C4 #4246, C44-10W #7611, ES44C4 #6901 and ES44C4 #8323.

This was followed by a westbound oil train with ES44C4 #8090, ES44C4 #6625 and C44-9W #5483 leading and two ES44C4's, #6905 and #6951, on the rear as DPUs.

A second westbound of the intermodal variety soon followed with ES44C4 #4298, C44-9W #4304 and C44-9W #4465 leading.

Heading out of town I caught C44-9W #5191 hanging out as local power on a siding.

At EAST FLAGSTAFF interlocking a Clear signal on westbound #2 track preceded the arrival of a doublestack intermodal train hauled by BNSF ES44C4's #4271 and #6636, and C44-9W's #4607 and #5301.

Heading north on US 89 we passed the famous Cameron Suspension Bridge over the Little Colorado River. Built in 1911 it now carries a natural gas pipeline.

We stayed overnight in Page, AZ and got an early start the next morning in order to avoid any potential "crowds". Due to prevailing weather conditions we had to hire a guide with a suitable vehicle. Getting stuck on the dirt road to the trailhead can result in a multi-thousand dollar tow. Flash floods are another major hazard, especially in the slot canyons. However this time of year the risk was low. Another advantage of the January date was getting to see The Wave covered in snow, which I am told is not common.

The Navajo sandstone was deposited in the Jurassic age and was later wind eroded into the current amphitheater formation, exposing the many layers of sediment due to their varying hardness. The strict limit on visitation is due to the soft sandstone being susceptible to damage from human activity.

While the drive in was pretty straightforward due to the low overnight temperatures freezing the mud, returning on the afternoon found the road a quagmire. In the dry summer season the trailhead can be reached by ordinary passenger cars due to the mud reverting to harmless dust.

Due to our early start, we had plenty of time after getting back to pop by the Glen Canyon Dam. Built in the 1950's as a junior version of the Hoover Dam, it still generates roughly 1.3 GW of power that is mostly shipped south to the Phoenix metro. Controversial due to its effect on the Colorado River ecology, the current boom-bust water cycles will likely ensure its future.

The complimentary Glen Canyon Dam Bridge carries US 89 700 feet over the Colorado on a 1271 foot arch. This and the nearby US 89A bridge are the first crossings over the Colorado east of Las Vegas due to the presence of the Grand Chasm.

Although there wasn't much left, I took a detour up to the old Black Mesa and Lake Powell crossing under Arizona Route 98. The captive mike railroad delivered coal to the 2GW Navajo Generating station behind E60 freight locomotives powered by a 50kv electrocution. The last coal train ran in 2020 and the plant was subsequently shut down and demolished due to the declining price of gas and renewables. Although the electrification was scrapped, the Navajo Nation is keeping the railway intact for potential reuse.

Although it is a bit of a tourist trap, on the way out of town my party stopped by the Colorado River's Horseshoe Bend.

Also on the drive back we stopped by the Wupatki National Monument featuring numerous sites built by the ancient Pueblo people around 900 years ago.

Despite Flagstaff only seeing a daily long distance train, there was a rail themed coffee shoppe about a block away selling Amtrak Frappes, amoung other things.

The station was open and the interior is split between the local visitor's center and the Amtrak waiting room. The passage between the two had a collection of ATSF proportional posters.