ABOVE: On a May 17, 2012, Apache Railway No. 98 leads the weekly “Blue Looper” coal train through photogenic S-curve at Milepost 32. This curve was always a challenge for the coal trains, as it lay at the bottom of one of the last grades. After coasting downgrade from Snowflake Junction, the units throttled up to drag the heavy train up the last hill to the paper mill. When the mill shut down at the end of September, the need for coal ceased.
business, and cost the surrounding community nearly 300 jobs.
The assets of the paper mill, includ-
ing the Apache Railway, were sold to Hackman Capital Partners on January 30, 2013. Not wanting to see the rail- road abandoned and scrapped,
the
leaders of Snowflake worked to keep the line open and viable for future bid- ders. In February, the Snowflake Com- munity Foundation (an Arizona non- profit) purchased the stock of the railway. This important step keeps the railroad running while the search for a new owner continues.
The Alco Roster The Apache Railway had depended
on a fleet of American Locomotive Com- pany diesels since the mid-1950s, with the exception of a Baldwin and a pair of Fairbank-Morse switchers for the log- ging operation. The fleet consisted of
0 MILES
Illustration by Otto M. Vondrak. Not all stations shown. Not an official map. ©2013 Carstens Publications, Inc.
Silver Lake to McNary 45 10 Flagstaff
ARIZONA Holbrook
PHOENIX Tours
Snowflake Pig Farm (Pigs for Farmer John)
to Barstow Arntz
to Albuquerque
Where Apache Alcos (Still) Roam
Blair
Snowflake Paper Mill
Shops Taylor
Snowflake Jct. Snowflake
Joseph City
Penzance Holbrook
BNSF (ATSF)
APA
APA
APA
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