Magma Arizona Railroad

Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAG : Magma Arizona Railroad

---

The Magma Arizona Railroad (AAR reporting mark MAA) was built by the Magma Copper Company and operated from 1920 - 1997. Originally headquartered in Superior, Arizona, the company primarily hauled cattle and copper on 30.2 miles (48.6 km) of standard gauge track to and from the Southern Pacific mainline in Magma, Arizona between Florence and Queen Creek.

The Australian mining giant Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) purchased the Magma Copper Company and its lines in 1996 for A$3.2 billion and suspended rail operations on this line a year later.

The Magma was the last industrial short line railroad to use steam power.

Revival

The railroad has since changed hands and is currently owned by Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto Group. Exploration in 2001-2003 resulted in the discovery of a large copper ore body some 7,000 ft (2133 m) beneath the surface of lands just three miles (5 km) east of Superior. If the mine is eventually reopened, it is highly likely the Magma Arizona will be revived to transport the one billion tons (907 million tonnes) of ore to off-site smelters. Discussions with representatives of Resolution indicate the Magma Arizona name will be kept if the mine and railroad are both reopened, which may occur after feasibility studies are completed in 2009.

Famous Locomotives

• Engine No. 5, a Baldwin 2-8-2, was built in 1917 for the Fremont and Gulf Railroad, who sold it to Magma in 1954. They converted it to diesel and eventually retired it to standby status in 1967. It was featured in the popular epic film How the West Was Won. The engine was purchased by the Texas State Railroad in 1974 and rehabbed in 1978. [link]
• Engine No. 6 is a Baldwin Locomotive Works 4-6-0 built in October 1907 and operated until 1960. It is now on display at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, Arizona [link]
• Engine No. 8, a Baldwin S-8, was originally built for the Medford Corporation in 1952. After Medford suspended railroad logging operations in 1961, the locomotive was sold to Magma Arizona in 1968. Its generator failed in September of 1992 and was sold to The Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, who rehabbed it for use on the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad. It is the only Baldwin switcher built with dynamic braking. [link]

Engine No. 10, a Baldwin DRS-6-6-15 was built in 1950 for the McCloud River Railroad as Engine No. 29.  It was purchased in 1969 by Magma and renumbered to Engine No. 10 and operated on the Magma line from January, 1970 - 1991.  In 1994, it was donated to the Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler, Arizona where it is largely functional. [link]

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: