Reporting mark CBRY Headquarters Hayden | Founded 1986 Locale Arizona | |
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Track gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
Arizona s copper basin railway 4 2006
The Copper Basin Railway (reporting mark CBRY) is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at Magma to Winkelman, in 54 miles (87 km) of length. The railroad also has a 7-mile (11 km) branch line that runs from Ray Junction to Ray, Arizona. There was formerly an interchange with the San Manuel Arizona Railroad (SMA) at Hayden. 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
- Arizona s copper basin railway 4 2006
- Copper basin railway july 10 2011
- Traffic
- Magma Winkelman line
- Route
- References
Copper basin railway july 10 2011
Traffic
107,000 cars per year (1996 estimate)
Magma-Winkelman line
The Magma-Winkelman line was constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (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 (SP) at Benson but the line was never built past Winkelman.
The railroad was leased to Santa Fe upon completion of construction on December 10, 1904, and was operated by ATSF subsidiary Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway. On March 13, 1907, the Phoenix & Eastern became an operating subsidiary of SP. On March 10, 1910, the Phoenix & Eastern was leased and became a non-operating subsidiary of 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 (10.22 km) 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.
Route
The route primarily follows the Gila River.