Williams has two anniversaries in the same year. The Grand Canyon Railway turned 125, and Route 66 turns 100. The two biggest days have already happened. The Centennial Car Show drew a record crowd in June, and the railway ran its anniversary double-header on Sept. 19. What's left between now and New Year's is a short set of dates. If you live here, you can fit it on a refrigerator calendar.
That's good news if you'd rather catch these moments close to home than fight for a spot. It helps to know which dates stack up, which ones stand alone, and which parts of the centennial are already bolted to buildings on Route 66.
Sept. 19 was the high point
On Sept. 19, 2026, the Grand Canyon Railway celebrated its 125th year by running steam locomotives No. 29 and No. 4960 together at the head of one train. The date lines up with the railway's first trainload of passengers, who reached the South Rim on Sept. 17, 1901. Williams-Grand Canyon News notes that rail operations have run continuously since then. The train left at 9:30 a.m. with nearly every seat full and more than 700 passengers aboard.
No. 29 was the story inside the story. Trains magazine reported that the 2-8-0 was making its public return after its federally required 1,472-day boiler inspection. The magazine quoted Eric Hadder, the railway's chief mechanical officer, on the restoration work.
There's also a detail that ties the engines to town. No. 4960 was converted in 2009 to run on recycled waste vegetable oil collected from local restaurants, and No. 29 was later outfitted to burn it too. Some of the smoke rolling over the depot on steam days started in Williams kitchens.
Two steam runs are left this year. Both leave at 9:30 a.m., and they fall on very different kinds of days.
October 3 is the crowded one
The first weekend of October has the most going on at once. Here's how the schedules stack up.
| Date | Event | Where | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 2 | Route 66 JDM Classic, day one | Near Dairy Queen, 603 Historic Route 66 | Japanese cars and trucks 2001 or older |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Route 66 JDM Classic, day two | Same | Same |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Steam run | Grand Canyon Railway depot | 9:30 a.m. departure only |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Pumpkin Patch Train opens | Williams Depot | 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 4 | Pumpkin Patch Train | Williams Depot | Same three departures |
That Saturday puts a steam departure, the first Pumpkin Patch trains and the second day of a car show on the same day, all within a short walk of each other on the Route 66 corridor. The JDM organizer's own site sets the eligibility cutoff at model year 2001 or older. The Experience Williams listing still says 1998, so if you plan to bring a car, go with the organizer's rule.
On steam days, the railway says only the 9:30 a.m. departure uses a steam engine. If you just want to see the locomotive leave, that's the only time to be there. The Pumpkin Patch trains run later in the day. Tickets include a pumpkin and entry to the fall activities at the Williams Depot, including a Harvest Maze. Those trains run the next three weekends as well: Oct. 10–11, 17–18 and 24–25.
October 14 is the quiet one
The year's last steam run is on Wednesday, Oct. 14. None of the Williams calendars reviewed for this post list another event that day. It's a weekday, it's the final chance in 2026 to hear a steam whistle leave the depot, and it doesn't share the morning with a car show or pumpkin crowds.
The railway doesn't say which locomotive will pull either October run. If you're hoping to see No. 29 in particular after its long absence, check with the railway before you go.
The centennial is already on the buildings
The steam dates will pass. Most of what the Route 66 centennial has added to Williams is permanent, and you can see it on any evening walk downtown.
The Williams Alliance for the Arts used two historic preservation grants to restore three neon signs along Route 66 this year: the World Famous Sultana, Canyon Club and Turquoise Teepee. The Sultana sign went back up this spring, and a lighting ceremony was scheduled for May 1. Longer nights mean the restored neon comes on earlier in the evening from here through winter.
At each end of downtown, next to the Route 66 arches, the city added centennial signs modeled on the Arizona Centennial signs from 2012. They read:
Home to the Last Active Segment of Historic Route 66 Prior to the I-40 Bypass
The curbs got attention too. Williams High School National Honor Society students repainted Route 66 curbs with the City and local resident Mike Manley as part of the Brighten Williams Project. The Williams Visitor Center is selling Route 66 Centennial coins and stamping Route 66 passports. It has also added a sheep-herding display alongside its Route 66 exhibits. If you're hosting guests this fall, the visitor center, a walk under the arches and the neon after dark add up to an easy evening with no tickets.
In the former Canyon Donuts space at 420 W. Route 66, Miguel Espinoza and Edith Alvarado run Rustic 66 Sushi & Grill, which makes a handy stop on the same walk.
The market that carries the centennial into December
The one fall series its organizer describes as a Route 66 Centennial market is 2nd Saturdays on 66. Lonely Crow Event Co. runs it at the Glassburn Event Area, 230 E. Route 66, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It brings classic cars, art, music, food, vendors and activities for kids. Its start was a little rough. The planned June 13 launch was canceled for weather, so July 11 became the first market.
Three dates remain:
- Oct. 10, which is also a Pumpkin Patch weekend at the depot
- Nov. 14, three days after Nov. 11, the date in 1926 when federal and state highway officials adopted the numbering system that created Route 66
- Dec. 12, the last centennial-branded market of the year
The November date is the closest scheduled event to the anniversary itself. As of this writing, the Williams event listings reviewed here don't show a separate celebration on Nov. 11. Something could still be announced. For now, the Saturday after is the date on the books.
Then the depot switches to holiday mode
The railway's Polar Express season is scheduled to open Nov. 6–8 and run on selected evenings through Dec. 30, according to published schedules. The railway says trains leave from the Williams station behind the Railway Hotel at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., and the ride takes about 90 minutes. The railway's own page doesn't list the 2026 opening date, so check ticket availability before promising anyone a first-weekend ride.
Experience Williams lists the Holiday Tree Lighting & Parade of Lights, plus Santaland, for Saturday, Nov. 28. That date comes after the Nov. 14 market and before the Dec. 12 market. Together they give the last stretch of the centennial year a Saturday event roughly every two weeks.
One more note on the calendar. The Route 66 parade planned for Friday, Sept. 18, during Williams Rendezvous Days was canceled, though the rest of Rendezvous Days at Buckskinner Park went ahead. If Nov. 28 is on your list, check the city's event page that week.
Anniversary years tend to shape how people think about a town, including neighbors, visiting family and folks who are just starting to look at Williams. If this fall has you curious about what's happening in the housing market along Route 66 and in the pines around town, I'm happy to talk it through over coffee downtown. Let's connect. Judy Ivicek
