Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad

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Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad (SC,PA&M) was a 2-foot narrow-gauge railway serving copper mines along the Continental Divide^[1] in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico. The communities of Silver City and Pinos Altos developed as 19th century miners recovered easily extracted gold and silver from ore deposits of the area. Standard-gauge Santa Fe Railroad reached Silver City in 1886, and SC,PA&M was formed to reach Pinos Altos. Construction lagged until Comanche Mining and Smelting purchased the railroad and many of the smaller mines in the area as horse-drawn ore transport became uneconomical. Two Shay locomotives were moved to Silver City in 1905 from the Gilpin tramway of Gilpin County, Colorado.

Numerous ore gondolas, slag dump cars, and flatcars were assembled locally. Two new locomotives were purchased while the older locomotives handled construction trains. When regular service was established, the newer locomotives transported ore 15.4 miles from the mines to ore concentrators and smelters in Silver City. Mining equipment was transported back to the mines in empty gondolas. The older locomotives shunted cars around the smelters and transported slag from the smelters to disposal sites. There was one boxcar, one caboose, and one tank car. The tank car carried boiler water for the locomotives. Another larger locomotive was purchased in 1907. A 7-stall engine-house was constructed in anticipation of two more locomotives, but operations ceased after the price of copper plunged in 1907. The line operated briefly after copper prices recovered in 1910, and was scrapped in 1913.

[edit] Locomotives

Number	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	Lima Locomotive Works	10-ton Shay	8/1887	181	ex-Gilpin tramway #1 acquired 5/1905 scrapped 1913
2	Lima Locomotive Works	12-ton Shay	2/1888	199	ex-Gilpin tramway #2 acquired 5/1905 to Savannah Mining Co. Utah 1913
3	Lima Locomotive Works	20-ton Shay	4/1906	1672	converted to 3-foot gauge Alta Scenic Railway #3 1917
4	Lima Locomotive Works	20-ton Shay	4/1906	1673	operated cabless following roll-over accident. converted to 3-foot gauge Alta Scenic Railway #4 1917
5	Lima Locomotive Works	33-ton Shay	7/1907	1928	converted to 42-inch gauge Big Sandy and Cumberland Railway #5 1913

[edit] References

• Ericson, Duane (2007). Silver City Narrow Gauge. M2FQ Publications. 
• Ferrell, Mallory Hope (1970). The Gilpin Gold Tram. Pruett Publishing. ISBN 0-87108-045-1. 
• Koch, Michael (1971). The Shay Locomotive Titan of the Timber. The World Press. 
• Moody, Linwood W. (1959). The Maine Two-Footers. Howell-North. 
• Myrick, David F. (1970). New Mexico's Railroads. Colorado Railroad Museum. 
• Shaw, Frederic (1958). Little Railways of the World. Howell-North.