Copper Basin Railway
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| Copper Basin Railway | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | CBRY |
| Locale | Magma-Winkelman, Arizona |
| Dates of operation | about August 15, 1986 – Present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Hayden, Arizona |
The Copper Basin Railway (AAR reporting marks CBRY) is an Arizona shortline railroad that operates from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks UP) at Magma to Winkelman, Arizona, 54 miles. The CBRY also has a 7-mile branch line that runs from Ray Junction to Ray, Arizona. CBRY also interchanges with the San Manuel Arizona Railroad (AAR reporting marks SMA) at Hayden, Arizona. The CBRY exists primarily to serve a copper mine. L. S. “Jake” Jacobson is the President and Chief Operating Officer. In summer 2006, ASARCO Copper Corporation purchased the entire railroad.
Contents |
[edit] Traffic
107,000 cars per year (1996 estimate)
- copper concentrates
- ore
- finished and unfinished copper
- sulfuric acid
- lumber
- military equipment
- gypsum
[edit] History
[edit] Magma-Winkelman line
The Magma-Winkelman line was constructed by the Santa Fe Railway(AAR reporting marks ATSF) subsidiary Phoenix and Eastern Railroad between 1902-1904. The Phoenix and Eastern Railroad built the railroad from Phoenix - Winkelman via Florence. It originally proposed to build to a connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks SP) at Benson, Arizona but the line was never built past Winkelman.
The railroad was leased to the Santa Fe Railway upon completion of construction on December 10, 1904 and was operated by the ATSF subsidiary Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway. On March 13, 1907 the Phoenix & Eastern became an operating subsidiary of the SP. On March 10, 1910 the Phoenix & Eastern was leased and became a non-operating subsidiary of the SP and operated by the Arizona Eastern Railroad. The railroad was sold to the Arizona Eastern Railroad on October 31, 1945. The Arizona Eastern Railroad was merged into SP on September 30, 1955.
The track at Winkelman was extended 6.35 miles to Christmas, Arizona in 1911 by the Arizona Eastern Railway. That section of track was abandoned by the SP in 1961.
At some point SP sold the line to mine operator Kennecott Copper. On August 15, 1986 the line was sold by Kennecott Copper and the CBRY was started. The CBRY was owned by Rail Management Corporation from 1986-2005. In summer 2006, ASARCO Copper Corporation purchased the entire railroad. ASARCO also owns the Ray Mine and Hayden Smelter, CBRY's primary customers.
[edit] Route
The route primarily follow the Gila River.
- Magma (Webster) - UP/MAA
- Florence Junction
- Florence
- Stanco
- Barr
- Munn (Alta)
- Price
- Tunnel 1 (over 630 feet in length, second in Arizona only to the 680-foot tunnel on the Arizona Central Railroad).
- Cochran
- Buttes
- North across the Gila River can be seen several "Behives". Made from rock they were originally built to make charcoal out of local timber.
- Zellweger
- Wooley
- Ray Junction
- Tunnel 2
- Riverside
- Erman
- Tunnel 3
- Kearny
- Branaman
- Burns
- Hayden Junction. Location of the Operational center for the SP until the system was rebuilt to have ore trains go directly from Ray to Hayden for unloading onto a new conveyor system.
- Hayden (Office)
- Spur to Kennecott Copper (KCCX) Mill and Smelter
- KCCX Ore Unload
- San Manuel Arizona Railroad Junction (to San Manuel and Mammoth Mine)
- Winkelman
At one point on the line, ruins of a guard post on the south side of the Gila River may be seen, left from when the Gila River formed the southern border of the United States before the Gadsden Purchase. A few miles further along lies the foundation from an early stagecoach station, at the only point where the Gila could be forded.
[edit] References
- Robertson, Donald B. (1986). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: The Desert States: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-305-6.
- Stindt, Fred A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
- Walker, Mike (1995). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Arizona & New Mexico. Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. ISBN 1-874745-04-8.
