Arizona Railroading and Railfanning Through "The Grand Canyon State"

Arizona railroading is known for flat deserts, high mountains, and trains that range from speeding loads of intermodal to slow drags of coal, copper, agriculture, and wood products. Today, the state may be home to less than 2,000 route miles of railroad but it offers a little of everything from main line railroading to railroad museums and tourist lines.

Arizona railroading got its start in 1877 when the Southern Pacific arrived in Yuma on its way to completing its line to Tucson in 1880. Over the years Arizona would become home to seventy-six different railroads although most of those have since been either abandoned, sold, or merged (actually, many disappeared during the industry’s early years due to poor management, economies, or other factors). One thing about Arizona railroading that has not changed, however, is the natural resources it has been known for which include coal, copper, and (to a lesser extent) timber/wood products.

Arizona has been one of the few states to never lose its original number of Class I railroads, two (although the names have changed). Prior to the mid 1990s Arizona railroading was home to its original Class I carriers, Southern Pacific and the venerable Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe both of whom had their main lines running east-west across the state. After 1995 that all changed when the Santa Fe merged with Burlington Northern becoming the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (today simply known as the BNSF Railway) and Southern Pacific was purchased by Union Pacific in 1996. Today, Arizona is still home to both original owners’ main lines with Union Pacific’s former SP Sunset Route a major corridor between California and Texas and BNSF Railway’s Transcon between California and Chicago (this route is also the state’s busiest).

In terms of overall mileage, currently Arizona ranks somewhat low at less the 2,000 route miles; however, as has happened with most states, at one time it was home to much, much more. The short table below lists its mileage rise and decline.

Although Arizona has only ever had two Class I systems the state is also home to many shortlines, which include the Apache Railway (and its fleet of large Alcos), the Arizona & California Railroad, the Arizona Eastern Railway, the Bauxite & Northern Railway, the Copper Basin Railway, and perhaps the most interesting of all the Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad a 78-mile entirely electrified system that operates E60C electric locomotives on a 50,000-volt catenary system (the line is used exclusively to move coal from the Black Mesa Mine to a power plant at Lake Powell, where the railroad gets its name).

Regarding the Class I carriers their larger terminals in Arizona include Tucson, Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Yuma along the Union Pacific and BNSF has yards in Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Winslow.

Today, passenger service is still available in the state with the Los Angeles-Chicago Southwest Chief along the BNSF stopping at Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams Junction, and Kingman. Also, the Sunset Limited along the UP stops at Benson, Tucson, Maricopa, and Yuma.

As far as museums and tourist lines are concerned, take your pick! There are plenty to choose from and include the Arizona Railway Museum, the popular and well-known Grand Canyon Railway and Verde Canyon Railroad, the Sierra Madre Express, and the Yuma Valley Railway.

All in all Arizona railroading is well worth the trip with the backdrop of beautiful deserts and mountains. So, whether you plan to ride the tourist railroads, visit the museums, or just go out and railfan one of the state’s many shortlines or two Class I systems you should have a wonderful time!