The Bradshaw Mountain Railroad was a subsidiary of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway

Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway

The Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway was a common carrier railroad that later became an operating subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in Arizona. At Ash Fork, Arizona the SFP&P connected with Santa Fe's operating subsidiary, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad mainline, that...

 (SFP&P) in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. The 35.65 mile railroad was built to serve the mines in the Bradshaw Mountains

Bradshaw Mountains

The Bradshaw Mountains are a mountain range in the Sonoran Desert of central Arizona, USA, named for brothers Isaac and William Bradshaw after their death, having been formerly known in English as the Silver Mountain Range.-History:...

. The railroad built from a connection at Poland Junction and at Mayer with the Prescott and Eastern Railroad

Prescott and Eastern Railroad

The Prescott and Eastern Railroad was a non-operating subsidiary of the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway in Arizona. The 26.4 mile common carrier railroad was built to serve the mines in the region. The railroad built from a connection with the SFP&P at Entro and extended south to Poland...

. The Prescott & Eastern was also operated by the SFP&P.

History

The railroad was incorporated on February 6, 1901. It commenced grading from the Prescott & Eastern connection at Mayer on September 10, 1901. The line reached Turkey Creek on November 30, 1902 and the following year it reached Saddle. Just prior to the line being completed to Crown King, on January 1, 1904, the Bradshaw Mountain was leased to the SFP&P. On May 4, 1904 the Crown King Branch was completed to Crown King.

The railroad also constructed a branch to Poland from a connection with the Prescott & Eastern at Poland Junction. The Poland Branch was completed on December 17, 1905.

The railroad was operated by the SFP&P by two Brooks 2-8-0

2-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...

 locomotives SFP&P #51 and #56 (later ATSF #2439 and #2444) until 1912. On January 2, 1912 the Bradshaw Mountain Railroad was merged into the California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway

California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway

The California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway was a non-operating subsidiary of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that was incorporated in 1911 and was merged into the ATSF in 1963...

. The California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway did not operate the line as it only existed on paper

Paper railroad

In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business which exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock. Frequently, paper railroads were set up as subsidiaries by larger parent railroads, or formerly existed and...

 as a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

.

The Bradshaw Mountain Railroad was built to serve the mines of the southern Bradshaw Mountains. Unfortunately, these mines were never very productive, and the BMRR was a financial failure. The line from Middleton to Crown King was abandoned in 1926, and both the Crown King and Poland branches were abandoned in 1939. Much of the road to Crown King

Crown King, Arizona

Crown King is an unincorporated community in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, located at an elevation of 5,771 feet . Crown King has a ZIP Code of 86343; in 2000, the population of the 86343 ZCTA was 133. The site of a former gold mining town, Crown King is 28 miles west of Interstate...

uses the old railbed.

Operating railroads

• 1901-1912 by the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railway
• 1912- by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway

Route

The line was eventually abandoned by the ATSF.

• Mayer
• Blue Bell
• Cordes
• Middleton
  • Tunnel
• Crown King

Poland Branch

• Poland Junction
• Henrietta
  • Tunnel
• Poland (the track was later extended to Walker)