The railroad as well as the recent history of the.entire area is all based on copper and copper mining. Before that it was ranching and cattle…which in some way still continues. In addition there's a history of of indigenous people. as you ride the train you certainly can understand why indigenous people wanted to settle in this area.
For about 12,000 years hunters and gathers roamed the Verde Valley. The Valley has an important indigenous person's history. It's not hard to understand with the river here. Some indigenous people have the saying "the river is everything' and another " water is life" There are several groups who have had influence here that archeologists recognize.
It was a different group identified as Sinagua that came around AD 600 than the Hohokam who settled In central and South Arizona although there was trade between groups. Also two distinct groups of Apache people came around AD 1200. The Pueblo like structures built at Tuzigoot, Palatki, Honanki and Monument Castle were built by Sinagua people.
No one knows for sure why they migrated away from the Pueblo's in the early 1400s. The Hopi people feel It was part of their planned return to the Hopi Homeland and main Mesas. I've certainly seen hope influence in several petroglyph sites In the Verde Valley. They produce their own cotton made their own cloth, and there's evidence trade with faraway groups. Macaw parrot feathers have been found from Mexico and decorated pottery from the north. I recommend a visit to the Museum at Tuzigoot National Monument and the Verde Valley Archaeological center and museum.
The tracks on which the Verde Canyon Railroad runs were opened in 1912 as part of a north–south branch line linking a copper smelter at Clarkdale and the copper mines at Jerome to Santa Fe Railway tracks passing through Drake. The Santa Fe Railway owned and operated the 38-mile (61 km) branch line from 1912 to 1988
Even though the big copper boom is over the track to Drake is still used for hauling freight even though the excursion line stops at Perkinsville ghost town.
The tracks follow the Verde River north and west of Clarkdale, Arizona. The route is approximately 20 miles to the ghost town of Perkinsville. The train follows the same route from Perkinsville back to Clarkdale.
The ride crossing bridges and trestles, and passes through a 680-foot-long (210 m) curved tunnel. You also can see some indigenous ruins and some historical telegraph lines that are still along the line. There are still a few historical homes and ranches along the river, I think they're grandfathered in by the US Forest Service service some of them have been there a long long time. You are going through the Prescott National Forest and the Coconino National Forest is across the river where the homes and ranches are, There is a dirt road that connects to a county highway. The river is lined with cottonwood trees. The canyon walls are impressive and you go through some massive copper slag walls, near the old smelter, which gives you a sense of how massive the mining operations were. Of course part of the problem is that for the actual amount of copper ore that is generated the amount of trailing piles or waste is huge In my reading I've seen that it's about 200 tons to one ton of usable ore and that is a conservative estimate. As you can imagine the waste is toxic. They are dealing with this problem even today exchanging soil from homes and and montering the river and local water for toxicity.
but 99% of the walls are beautiful red rock Canyon walls.
The Perkinsville ghost town is named for A. M. Perkins, who established a cattle ranch here in 1900. I believe it's still owned by the same family and a cattle ranch operation. I've heard some thoughts about making it a guest ranch and a hunting operation.
In 1912, the shortline, financed by William A. Clark to service his copper smelter in Clarkdale and his copper mine in Jerome, opened a station in Perkinsville. You can still see including a depot, a water tower foundation and part of the tower and some housing used by railroad workers. You can also see a limestone quarry and kiln for producing lime, used as a flux in the Clarkdale copper smelter. There are also remnants of cattle Gates where they loaded cattle into I'msome of the cars and shipped it out
The copper smelter closure in the early 1950s eliminated the need for the quarry and kiln, and the advent of diesel locomotives eliminated the need for the Perkinsville water stop. The hamlet soon became a ghost town, used in the 1960s as a filming location for scenes in How the West Was Won.
The train ride was beautiful and relaxing but I do love trains. It's about a 4 hour round trip can run a little shorter or a little longer. The seats in the cars are living room style and very comfortable. I was in last passenger car before the caboose, which is for private group rental. The next car up from me was a viewing platform with bench seats and a sun roof but mostlyin the open, The platform is where i spent the majority of my time taking pictures and enjoying the air. Some people may have needed to eat lunch from the depot but I felt that the freshly-prepared appetizer tray included in your ticket was more than enough for me. The tray included fruit, cheeses, lunch meats, crackers and dessert, all individually packaged and distributed upon boarding. Bottled water and sodas are available throughout the journey. These appetizers, tasty and abundant, because I am a certain age were enough food for the trip.
I would recommend this trip and certainly would go again. You are also near the Copper museum and a wonderful French style bakery called "Violettes Bakery café " in Clarkdale as well as Tuzigoot National Monument.