Western Railroad Discussion > How is the train movement near Meteor Crater Natural Landmark?

I have seen some videos on the famous Meteor Crater Natural Landmark and noted that there are some tracks on North of it. Are those busy tracks? Any railroad station nearby?


Pedro

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Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/24 17:01 by pedrop.

pedrop Wrote:

> I have seen some videos on the famous Meteor Crater Natural Landmark and noted that there are some tracks on North of it. Are those busy tracks? Any railroad station nearby?

BNSF's former Santa Fe main line runs about 7 miles north of Meteor Crater.  It is quite busy.  The closest Amtrak stations would be Winslow, AZ to the east and Flagstaff, AZ to the west. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/24 16:55 by Evan_Werkema.

The tracks north of Meteor Crater are BNSF, known as its Southern Transcon (as in Transcontinental), a major artery between the Midwest and Southern California.  The current train count is an average of 70 trains every 24 hours.   One can drive north of Interstate 40 on Meteor Crater Road, where it turns into gravel, to get next to the tracks.   Here is a photo from September of a westbound.   The line climbs steadily westward from the crew change point of Winslow, eventually cresting at the Arizona Divide west of Flagstaff.

Ted Ferkenhoff
Flagstaff, AZ

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So, it looks a must see location for railfans. Thanks for the hints.

Pedro

tferk Wrote:
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> The tracks north of Meteor Crater are BNSF, known
> as its Southern Transcon (as in Transcontinental),
> a major artery between the Midwest and Southern
> California.  The current train count is an
> average of 70 trains every 24 hours.   One can
> drive north of Interstate 40 on Meteor Crater
> Road, where it turns into gravel, to get next to
> the tracks.   Here is a photo from September of
> a westbound.   The line climbs steadily westward
> from the crew change point of Winslow, eventually
> cresting at the Arizona Divide west of Flagstaff.

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Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

If you like geology and trains, 85 miles east from Meteor Crater is Petrified Forest National Park, on the same BNSF Transcon.

mapboy

Yes, I like this kind of Natural Land mark. I also noted that the Four Corners Monument is a three hours drive trip on North. That sounds a nice location to visit as well.

mapboy Wrote:
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> If you like geology and trains, 85 miles east from
> Meteor Crater is Petrified Forest National Park,
> on the same BNSF Transcon.
>
> mapboy

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

While in the neighborhood, Canyon Diablo is about 12 miles NW of Meteor Crater.  It is north of I-40 from the Two Guns exit, aka exit 230.  Very rough road but worth checking out the ATSF/BNSF bridge crossing the Canyon, lots of trains too!
Bryan 

Bryan, Thanks for these hints.

Chico56 Wrote:
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> While in the neighborhood, Canyon Diablo is about
> 12 miles NW of Meteor Crater.  It is north of
> I-40 from the Two Guns exit, aka exit 230.  Very
> rough road but worth checking out the ATSF/BNSF
> bridge crossing the Canyon, lots of trains too!
> Bryan 

Posted from Android

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Remarkable how close the meteor came to hitting the rail line, also -- if the meteor had hit just a few hundred feet north it would have been a direct hit on the Visitor's Center.

Chico56 Wrote:

> While in the neighborhood, Canyon Diablo is about 12 miles NW of Meteor Crater.  

According to Google Maps, it's 24 minutes from Meteor Crater to Canyon Diablo...yeah, right. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CxR4b3tE1DTouZUz8

In their defense, I'm guessing they don't have a lot of real-world data to work from...

okcrr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Remarkable how close the meteor came to hitting
> the rail line, also -- if the meteor had hit just
> a few hundred feet north it would have been a
> direct hit on the Visitor's Center.

:-)