APACHE RAILWAY

The 'Apache Railway' is an Arizona shortline railroad that operates from a connection with the BNSF Railway at Holbrook to the Abitibi paper mill at Snowflake, Arizona, 38 miles. The APA was acquired by Abitibi Consolidated from the Stone Container Corporation in 1999.

Contents

Traffic

History

Passenger Service

Motive Power

Route

Abandoned routes

References

Traffic

16,000 cars per year (1996 figure)

★ recycled fiber

★ pulpwood

★ wood chips

★ coal

★ paper

★ chemicals

★ grain

History

The Apache Railway was incorporated on September 5 1917. Grading for the APA began on October 1 and by March 1918 the rails were being laid. One year later, on September 6 1918 the track reached Snowflake. The railroad continued building south from Snowflake and reached McNary on April 5 1919. Construction of the entire 72-mile line from Holbrook to McNary was completed on July 1 1920 and the APA was listed as a class II railroad common carrier.
From October 1 1931 until 1936, amid the great depression, the APA was placed in receivership.
The White Mountain Scenic Railroad operated steam powered passenger excursions over the Southwest Forest Industries-owned line from McNary to the logging camp of Maverick, AZ from 1964-1976. The line from Maverick to McNary, with some elevations exceeding 9,000ft, was removed in 1982 after the McNary sawmill closed.
By the 1980s the APA was Arizona's only remaining logging railroad. The track from Snowflake to McNary was abandoned in 1984.

Passenger Service

The Apache Railway offered passenger service until the 1950's.

Motive Power

Today's APA uses ALCO Century 420 (C420) and C424s.

Route

★ Holbrook (Interchange with BNSF Railway's Gallup Subdivision/Formerly Santa Fe Railway)

★ Blair

★ Snowflake Pig Farm

★ Tours

★ Snowflake Junction

★ Apache Railway Shops

★ Snowflake Paper Mill (Abitibi Consolidated)

★ Snowflake Junction

★ Snowflake

Abandoned routes

Abandoned in 1984.

★ Snowflake (interchange with the now defunct Standard Lumber)

★ Taylor

★ Silver Lake

★ Bell (Sedan)

★ Sponseller (with several lumber spurs into the forest to the east)

★ Pinetop Lakes (with several lumber spurs into the forest)

★ McNary (interchange with Southwest Forest Industries)

★ Camp 28 (with several lumber spurs into the forest)
In addition, a 2 to 3 mile section of track used to run from south of Tours to Snowflake. Today's line runs from Tours to Snowflake Junction.

References

★ Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: The Desert States: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Robertson, Donald B., , , The Caxton Printers, 1986, ISBN 0-87004-305-6

★ American Shortline Railway Guide, Stindt, Fred A., , , Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-89024-290-9

★ Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Arizona & New Mexico, Walker, Mike, , , Steam Powered Publishing, 1995, ISBN 1-874745-04-8

★ Apache Railway - the Southwest Railfan

★ Apache Railway motive power