The Yuma Valley Railway was a heritage railroad in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, which formerly operated an excursion passenger train on the rail line following the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

between Yuma and Gadsden. The railroad's train has not operated since 2005, when the line was embargoed by the Bureau of Reclamation. The equipment had been parked idle across the canal and south of the Yuma Quartermaster Depot; at least one passenger car was relocated to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in May 2013.

Motive Power and Rolling Stock

*1943 USMC

GE 44-ton switcher The GE 44-ton switcher is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned thes ...

Center Cab Diesel *1957

GE 65-ton switcher The GE 65-ton switcher is a diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric. It has a B-B wheel arrangement, with models producing 400–550 horsepower. The 65-ton is an upgraded GE 44-ton with a heavier frame and a more powerful diesel eng ...

Center Cab Diesel *1952 U.S. Army Davenport-Besler *1922 Pullman chair car (

Apache Railway The Apache Railway is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the BNSF Railway at Holbrook to the Snowflake Mill near Snowflake, Arizona, . The APA was acquired by Catalyst Paper from Abitibi Consolidated in 2008. ...

) *1923 Pullman

club car Club Car is an American company that manufactures electric and gas-powered golf carts and small utility vehicles for personal and commercial use. It is currently owned by Platinum Equity after being acquired in 2021. Before that, the company wa ...

/U.S. Army ambulance car *1950 Pullman chair car

History

The YVRY was originally owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. It was part of the Interior Department's

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

and

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

project along the levee of the Colorado River. The U.S. Government's railroad was known as the

Yuma Valley Railroad The Yuma Valley Railway was a heritage railroad in Arizona, which formerly operated an excursion passenger train on the rail line following the Colorado River levee between Yuma and Gadsden. The railroad's train has not operated since 2005, ...

and operated from 1914 and into the 1980s. The Yuma Valley Railroad originally extended 25 miles from Yuma to the Arizona/ Mexico border town of

San Luis San Luis (Spanish for "Saint Louis") may refer to: Places Argentina * San Luis Province * San Luis, Argentina, capital of San Luis Province Belize * San Luis, Belize, in Orange Walk District Colombia * San Luis, Antioquia, a town and municipality ...

. In 1947 the Yuma Valley Railroad was leased to and operated by the

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 ...

, at which time the 9 miles from Gadsden to San Luis were idle and later abandoned.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuma Valley Railway Heritage railroads in Arizona Yuma, Arizona Transportation in Yuma County, Arizona History of Yuma County, Arizona