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I have ridden the Southwest Chief six times across Canyon Diablo, and I have not seen it yet. I admit that three times it was dark heading west, but I missed it on all three eastbound trips.
I know it is a little east of Flagstaff. Do you have any suggestions on where and when to look for it? Is it worth trying to see?
I am planning on taking the Southwest Chief from Flagstaff to Albuquerque next month.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
RRCHINA Member # 1514
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Canyon Diablo is 32 miles east of Flagstaff. There are no prominent landmarks for warnings and the SW Chief will probably be at about 80 MPH. You should be in the dome car, either side will do, and look for a deep (220 ft.) rocky canyon that will be visable for a few seconds only. If you look ahead you can see it coming but it comes up quickly. I-40 is about 1 mile to the south, right side of an eastward train so that is not much help.
Good luck, Jack
Eric Member # 674
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It is out in the middle of nowhere, but if you look closely (on the North side), you might see some delapidated whitish stone buildings that the railroad builders used to live in while they constructed the original railroad and the bridge. These buildings are probably the tallest things for a few miles. The canyon comes up just before these structures. There is also a Canyon Padre, which is smaller than Diablo, about 2 minutes before you get to Diablo (heading East), so you might want to look for this also. As RRCHINA said, the Chief'll be doing 80 or 90 MPH, so it goes by quickly. However, I've managed to get one or two pictures as we crossed it, and they turned out. So sit in the Lounge car for the first 35-40 minutes out of Flag, and you should spot it! Enjoy your trip, Eric
Konstantin Member # 18
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Thank you for the comments. I will be on the lookout for it this time.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
Southwest Chief Member # 1227
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It is very hard to see (west bound) if there is no moon light. The Chief will actually slow a bit right before it crosses the bridge. It does have a speed restriction I think because the Chief normally does 90 for a while and then slows and right after the crossing speeds up again. But it slows to maybe 75, so the Chief is still running very fast! Don't be fooled by another canyon. I don't know the name but it comes before Diablo when heading west. If you have a scanner, when east bound listen for the detector at milepost 315.5 it's right before Diablo. It is very magnificent if you can see it. Most of the time when eastbound I seem to be in the Diner and forget to look until its too late.
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