THE SITES (p 2)
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AZ AA:10:19(ASM)
This number encompasses extant portions of the Arizona Southern
Railroad, only some of which were found on ASARCO and BLM lands.
A subsidiary of the Imperial Copper Company at its inception, the
railroad was incorporated in January 20, 1904. William Staunton
of Imperial headed up the initiative and contracted Grant Brothers
of Los Angeles to build the line. Construction commenced on February
17, 1904. Crews totaling 600 to 700 men laid approximately 22 miles
of standard gauge track between Red Rock and Silver Bell. The hilly
terrain around Silver Bell necessitated a series of switchbacks
over the last two miles and a wye for turning locomotives; a maximum
grade of 3.4% was attained at Jesuit Hill. Two trestles spanned
Silver Bell Wash, one at Jesuit Hill and one in Silver Bell itself.
The latter had a wagon road beneath it. The line was completed on
September 1, 1904.
The Arizona Southern Railroad served a dual purpose: it hauled
ore to Red Rock, at which point it was taken via the Southern Pacific
Railroad to Douglas or other smelters, and it provided water, mail,
freight, and passenger service between Red Rock and Silver Bell.
Passengers transferred to the Southern Pacific line at Red Rock.
After 1907 ore was hauled directly to the smelter at Sasco. Prior
to the building of the railroad, people and supplies traveled by
train to Rillito, Red Rock, or Picacho, and completed the journey
to Silver Bell by stage, buggy, or horse (a Tucson to Silver Bell
stage ran from about 1881 to 1901, and a subsequent “auto
stage” operated until the early 1930s). Mining company correspondence
from the pre-rail period indicates that hauling freight to the district
was an extremely precarious business, and many shipments were lost
or late due to inclement weather and high water in the Santa Cruz
River.
The railroad maintained locomotives, cabooses, flatbeds with water
tanks, freight cars, passenger cars, and a series of special automobiles
that were modified to travel by rail. The first two track cars were
Cadillacs, followed by an Oldsmobile and a Buick. These track cars
allowed company managers to travel to and from the mines more expeditiously,
as they did not have to wait for scheduled trains. Oral histories
suggest that the community was quite fascinated with these vehicles,
one of which was dubbed “the Speeder.”
Imperial’s bankruptcy forced a temporary suspension of service
in 1914 and 1915, but ASARCO resumed intermittent operation and
even added track at Sasco in 1917. By December 20, 1933, however,
ASARCO had received permission to abandon the line; ten days later,
the tracks were dismantled and everything was sold.
Archaeologists identified the wye, several switchbacks, retaining
walls, and wooden culverts, many of which remained in good condition
in the early 1990s. Segments of track were still extant near ASARCO’s
Dump No. 10, and a few railroad spikes were encountered in the area.
To the north, the railroad grade served as a county road.
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| Wye for turning locomotives at edge of AZ
AA:10:8(ASM) »Enlarge |
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Railroad spike »Enlarge
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Unfortunately, features, trash, or other evidence of railroad
construction camps were not evident to field personnel. Their report
surmises that construction crews may have been housed in box cars.
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