Arizona and Swansea Railroad

Arizona and Swansea Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Swansea, Arizona
Locale	Bouse-Swansea, Arizona
Dates of operation	1909–1937
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Arizona and Swansea Railroad (A&S RR) was a mining railroad that operated from a connection with the Arizona and California Railway (later the Santa Fe Railway) at Bouse to a copper and gold mine at Swansea, Arizona, 21 miles (34 km). The A&S RR was owned and operated by the Swansea Consolidated Gold & Copper Company.

History

Route in 1930

The A&S RR was constructed in 1909 to build to the Clara Consolidated Mining Company at Swansea. Track construction commenced in November 1909 and the line was completed by December 31, 1909. In 1937 the A&S RR was abandoned.

Motive Power

• Engine #1 was purchased used from the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad (#179) and was a 2-8-0 (Consolidation Type) locomotive built (Builder # 3852) by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1876.
• Engine #3 was a 2-8-0 (Consolidation Type) locomotive that was purchased new (Builder #48024) in 1910 from the Schenectady Locomotive Works.

Route

• 0.0 Bouse (Junction with Arizona and California Railway) - later the Santa Fe Railway
• 11.0 Midway, a watering stop marking the midpoint of the route, located at 34°04′14″N 113°53′12″W. Today, a Bureau of Land Management plaque marks the site.^[1][2]
• 16.0 Summit
• 18.5 Clara
• 21.1 Swansea

See also

• List of defunct Arizona railroads

References

1. "Feature Detail Report for: Midway". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Yost, Barbara (March 26, 2006). "Mining camp that died in 1930s is being revived". Arizona Republic. p. T4.

• Robertson, Donald B. (1986). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: The Desert States: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers. p. 70. ISBN 0-87004-305-6.
• Walker, Mike, ed. (1995). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Arizona & New Mexico. Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-874745-04-8.
• Yost, Barbara (2004). "Reviving ghost town". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 21, 2009.