The BHP Nevada Railroad was a shortline railroad that operated in Nevada from 1996 to 1999. BHP acquired the line from Nevada Northern Railway. Constructed by

Utah Construction Company The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis Jr., Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900. History A short four years after its founding, the company was awarded the contract to build the Feat ...

in 1908, the railroad hauled copper ore concentrate from BHP's concentrator at Riepetown to

Shafter, Nevada Shafter is a ghost town in Elko County, Nevada, United States. History Shafter was founded in 1906 as a siding for the Nevada Northern Railway. Before being called Shafter, it was known as Bews. It was renamed Shafter in 1907, when the Western P ...

. At Shafter the railroad interchanged with the Union Pacific and the ore continued to BHP's

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

at San Manuel, Arizona. BHP is an Australian-based company that took over

Magma Copper Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

, the owner of the Robinson Mine at Ruth, Nevada, in January 1996. The line ran south from a connection with the Union Pacific at Shafter to Ely.

Locomotives

The BHP Nevada Railroad used five former

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

EMD SD9

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s built between 1954 and 1956 to operate over the line. They were numbered #201 – 205. For switching and local operations the railroad used two GE 70-ton

switcher A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...

s from the

Santa Maria Valley Railroad The Santa Maria Valley Railroad is a shortline railroad that interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad's (former Southern Pacific) Coast Line at Guadalupe, California. As of 2006, the Railroad is owned by the Coast Belle Rail Corporation. Tr ...

. BHP also had one ALCO RS-3. The switchers were also built in the 1950s and numbered #12 and #13.

Nevada Northern Railway Museum

BHP ended up turning over its locomotives and rolling stock to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum as part of a settlement over their track lease agreement. A small portion of the BHP Nevada Railroad was operated over the Nevada Northern Railway Museum tracks with trackage rights between East Ely and Ruth. The line was abandoned in 1999 when copper mining was discontinued, however in 2004 the mines were reopened, and the copper concentrate was hauled by road. The disused line between Ely and Cobre was acquired by the city of Ely in 2006.

Route

Stations, listed from north to south: *

(connection with the Union Pacific Railroad, former Western Pacific) *Decoy *Dolly Varden *Mizpah *Currie *Goshute *Greens *Cherry Creek *Schellbourne (Ray) *Requa (Raiff) *Warm Springs *Steptoe *Glenn *McGill Junction *J&M Spur *Hiline Junction (Hi Line Junction) *Mosier * East Ely *Ore Yard *Calumet *Tunnel 1 *Lane *Keystone *Lone Tree Road * Ruth *Sunshine *Tripp Pit *Riepetown

References

Other sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhp Nevada Railroad Defunct Nevada railroads Mining in Nevada Mining railways in the United States 1996 establishments in Nevada 1999 disestablishments in Nevada Railway companies established in 1996 Railway companies disestablished in 1999 Copper mining in the United States

Locomotives

Nevada Northern Railway Museum

Route

See also

References

Other sources