Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad (SC,PA&M) was a 2-foot narrow-gauge railway serving copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mines

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 along the Continental Divide

Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...

 in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. The communities of Silver City

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

 and Pinos Altos developed as 19th century miners recovered easily extracted gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 from ore deposits of the area. Standard-gauge Santa Fe Railroad reached Silver City in 1886, and SC,PA&M was formed to reach Pinos Altos. Construction lagged until Comanche Mining and Smelting purchased the railroad and many of the smaller mines in the area as horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

-drawn ore transport became uneconomical. Two Shay locomotive

Shay locomotive

The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive...

s were moved to Silver City in 1905 from the Gilpin tramway

Gilpin tramway

The Gilpin Railroad, earlier the GIlpin Tramway Company, was a narrow-gauge railway in Gilpin County, Colorado, in operation from 1887 to 1917.-Gold extraction:...

 of Gilpin County, Colorado

Gilpin County, Colorado

Gilpin County is the second least extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Gilpin County was named after Colonel William Gilpin, the first Governor of the Territory of Colorado. The county population was 4,757 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Central City...

.

Numerous ore gondola

Gondola (rail)

In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail...

s, slag

Slag

Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...

 dump cars, and flatcar

Flatcar

A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...

s were assembled locally. Two new locomotives were purchased while the older locomotives handled construction trains. When regular service was established, the newer locomotives transported ore 15.4 miles from the mines to ore concentrators and smelters in Silver City. Mining equipment was transported back to the mines in empty gondolas. The older locomotives shunted cars around the smelters and transported slag from the smelters to disposal sites. There was one boxcar

Boxcar

A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...

, one caboose

Caboose

A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

, and one tank car

Tank car

A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...

. The tank car carried boiler

Boiler

A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...

 water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 for the locomotives. Another larger locomotive was purchased in 1907. A 7-stall engine-house

Roundhouse

A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...

 was constructed in anticipation of two more locomotives, but operations ceased after the price of copper plunged in 1907. The line operated briefly after copper prices recovered in 1910, and was scrapped in 1913.

Locomotives

Number	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1	Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...	10-ton Shay	8/1887	181	ex-Gilpin tramway Gilpin tramway The Gilpin Railroad, earlier the GIlpin Tramway Company, was a narrow-gauge railway in Gilpin County, Colorado, in operation from 1887 to 1917.-Gold extraction:...  #1 acquired 5/1905 scrapped 1913
2	Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...	12-ton Shay	2/1888	199	ex-Gilpin tramway Gilpin tramway The Gilpin Railroad, earlier the GIlpin Tramway Company, was a narrow-gauge railway in Gilpin County, Colorado, in operation from 1887 to 1917.-Gold extraction:...  #2 acquired 5/1905 to Savannah Mining Co. Utah 1913
3	Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...	20-ton Shay	4/1906	1672	converted to 3-foot gauge Alta Scenic Railway #3 3 July 1917
4	Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...	20-ton Shay	4/1906	1673	operated cabless following roll-over accident. converted to 3-foot gauge Alta Scenic Railway #4 26 November1917
5	Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...	33-ton Shay	7/1907	1928	converted to 42-inch gauge Big Sandy and Cumberland Railway #5 1913