The Railroad and the Canyon

A history of the construction of the railroad around the Grand Canyon, including the famous figures and major events.

Exploration of the Grand Canyon has attracted the attention of adventurers from Coronado to Roosevelt and captured the imaginations of millions worldwide. In the early part of the twentieth century, development of the canyon as a tourist destination, a source of mining prospects, an artistic subject, and a geological wonder increased at tremendous rates due to the linking of the Santa Fe railroad line with the canyon’s edge from Williams and Flagstaff.

Rudy J. Gerber’s The Railroad and the Canyon is a historical expedition into the events that led to the building of the railroad and its impact on the canyon. From the first deadly attempts to run trains through the canyon to the industries that sprouted up alongside its tracks, this story of man’s quest to conquer the canyon by train is both fascinating and enlightening. Gerber introduces the famous figures from John Hance, whose stagecoaches brought adventurous spectators to the rim; to Buckey O’Neill, who convinced financiers to run the rails to his property; to Mary Jane Colter, the architect whose work remains today as part of the national park grounds.

The race to the canyon was not without legal battles and dry spells for tourism. This book tells how landowners battled for rights to the rails, how the railroad marketed its canyon trips, how the hotels developed and grew, and how roads and cars competed with the rails for carrying visitors to the canyon. Included are also stories of the archeological finds along the tracks and sights found along the guideposts of the trek.