THE LONELIEST RAILROAD IN AMERICA


BY JIM TIROCH/PHOTOS AS NOTED I


N NORTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO, fifteen miles southwest from downtown Farmington and on the Navajo


Indian Reservation, lies an obscure shortline railroad operation. Known as the Navajo Mine Railroad, it is the only standard gauge operation in this part of the state; the closest mainline railroad is the BNSF Transcon line in Gallup, 92 miles to the south. The railroad was constructed between 1973 and 1974 to serve the BHP Minerals (now BHP Billiton) mining operation as a conveyor belt to the Arizona Public Service (APS)


30 DECEMBER 2015 • RAILFAN.COM


Four Corners Power Plant located in Fruitland, N.M. Of course, railfans are probably more familiar with another private electric railroad in nearby Arizona. While the Black Mesa & Lake Powell, located 200 miles to the west in Page, Ariz., seems to get all the attention, New Mexico’s Navajo Mine Railroad toils on in obscurity. The railroad is almost invisible due to its remoteness. While the BM&LP is easily viewable from a parallel U.S. highway, the Navajo Mine has only two public locations where


photographs can be taken, which creates a challenge for the visiting railfan.


History


Until the Navajo Mine Railroad was constructed, there was only one other railroad in the Four Corners region of New Mexico, the Farmington Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, which ran from Durango, Colo., to Farmington, N.M. In 1968, the Rio Grange abandoned the branch due to low traffic levels and the line was torn out shortly thereafter. In 1953 the Utah Construction &


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