For those keeping track at home, George R.R. Martin is still working on his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, the books that were adapted as HBO’s Game of Thrones. It’s been a decade since the last book, A Dance With Dragons, was published, while Martin has stayed busy working on everything from a prequel play to coming up with the story for a video game.
Martin recently took to Twitter to announce the upcoming completion of his his latest project, one that takes him a long way from the literary world. In this case, it’s a short-haul railroad running between Santa Fe and Lamy called Sky Railway, which has been in the works for a while and is set to open on December 3.
Martin explained the project in greater detail on his website. Sky Railway is the brainchild of a host of prominent residents of Santa Fe, and it involves refurbishing an old railroad line and turning it into a scenic ride through the desert. Martin notes that the trip will take “about an hour and a quarter at our blazing speed of fifteen miles an hour.” Passengers will have the option to kick back and take in the scenery, or take part in more interactive experiences. Think somewhere between Sleep No More and Amtrak’s observation car, maybe.
Martin also clarified that his time has been spent writing. When it comes to Sky Railway, “[m]ostly what I have been doing is throwing out ideas and writing checks,” he wrote. “I have not driven a single spike, laid a single rail, reupholstered a seat, crawled under a coach to check the wheels, and I won’t be selling tickets or driving the trains either…”
This sound pretty excellent, and the prospect of taking a restored train into the desert for some stargazing sounds compelling indeed.
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