Been quite a while since I've had anything to really post, but I finally found the perfect RBMN-esque route with a desert feel to operate "mainline" steam excursions with ATSF 5000 and plenty of freight during the week. Funny enough, Kickstarter County 2 did the trick, so I give everyone my fantasized version of the Arizona Central Railroad. The first photo is Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe no. 5000 posed next to ACZR no. 2279, freshly-painted into the railroad's new "Pride of Arizona" paint scheme. This will eventually be applied to the entire diesel fleet.
The next photo depicts ATSF 5000 waiting to depart with a passenger excursion. The Arizona Central, once originating in Clarkdale, AZ and extending to the BNSF interchange at Drake, AZ now extends all the way to Flagstaff, AZ, where both Amtrak and AZCR passenger trains depart from the same ex-ATSF Flagstaff train station. ATSF 5000 waits as Amtrak's Southwest Chief arrives in Flagstaff, en route to California.
The third photo shows ATSF 5000 approaching Sycamore, AZ, with 10 renovated ex-Amtrak Superliner II cars in tow. These cars now feature 3 different comfort levels- coach, Sightseer, and First Class. The Sightseer and First Class coaches are former Sightseer domes from Amtrak, and the whole consist has had its exterior altered to resemble the Santa Fe "El Capitan" Hi-Level cars that, coincidentally, became Amtrak's first "Superliner" cars and served as a basis for the improved Superliner II class. Overall, each train has capacity for more than 500 passengers.
The final photo depicts ATSF 5000 nearing Clarkdale, AZ, the train's halfway point. The train runs at 25 mph over the AZCR mainline and completes the round trip journey in just under 5 hours, including a 1-hour+ stopover in Clarkdale for passengers to stretch, eat lunch, and enjoy the Sedona scenery. Having departed Flagstaff at 10:30 am, the train is expected in Clarkdale between 12:15 and 12:30 pm. Departing Clarkdale at 1:30, the trip will return to Flagstaff between 3:15 and 3:30.