Arizona Rail Passenger Association
Amtrak rail service to Phoenix, Tempe, and Coolidge, Arizona ceased on 2 June, 1996, with the departure of the Sunset Limited. Here is an account of my ride on the last train.
My brother and I boarded the Sunset at Tempe on 1 June. While Amtrak had previously announced 1 June as the start of replacement bus service, this was later extended by two days. We took the opportunity to ride to El Paso, Texas, and return.
This final eastbound train arrived only slightly late. There were quite a few waiting to board, including a lady who said she'd come down to meet almost every train since the Sunset started calling here in 1987. (Until the late eighties, Amtrak had stopped only in Yuma, Phoenix, and Tucson... a situation not unlike today, now that only Yuma and Tucson remain.)
The coach we boarded still had the seat checks for Phoenix-bound passengers. There had been quite a few detraining there -- easily half the seats in our coach, plus many in the other coaches.
Leaving Tempe, the train passes close to the stadium where the 1996 Superbowl was played; past Arizona State University; and through Mesa, a town of 340,000. The Mesa station burned down in the '80's; only the floor, and promises of regional rail serving the downtown area, remain:
After passing the Mesa station site, the train turns South and then Southeast, through what was once miles of orange groves and cotton fields, but is fast being filled with houses, shopping, offices, and crowded roadways:
You can see houses replacing fields in the above photo. Development in the Valley of the Sun is proceeding at an acre an hour, according to a recent series of articles in the Arizona Republic.
About halfway between Phoenix and Tucson lies the town of Coolidge, which is just a few miles from the Casa Grande National Monument:
Another hour or so brought us past Picacho, where we joined the SP mainline across which the Sunset would travel after 2 June, to Tucson.
Here we are standing in the middle of what was the station track. This track, recently removed along with the switches at either end, will have to be replaced now that the Sunset will call at different times here and dwell longer before departing. (So much for "avoiding capital expenses" by discontinuing Phoenix...)
We arrived in El Paso nearly on-time, after enjoying breakfast and lunch in the dining car. The El Paso station has been beautifully restored and its office space used by the city transit agency. A mural depicting transportation through the years graces the spacious waiting area. The El Paso Union Depot was designed by the same architect who drew plans for the Washington (DC) Union Station.
An evening in El Paso, a fabulous steak dinner, and a morning walking around Ciudad Juaréz, México, preceded our return back to the station. The bridge across the Rio Grande still has streetcar tracks, and most of the catenary, which could be reused for trolley service; and although there has been much talk in recent years, only rubber-tired trolleys ply the Rio Grande bridge today.
The last westbound train (2 June) for Tempe and Phoenix was about two hours late. After this slow start, we enjoyed the trip, seeing the previous day's scenery in reverse. There were few on hand at the Coolidge stop, but a fair contingent of Tempe folk came to wish the Sunset a farewell. Many more turned out seven miles west at Phoenix for an observance at Union Station there. My brother and I left Tempe for home after watching the Sunset depart the Valley of the Sun for the last time.
William Lindley, Mesa AZ, 30 June 1996