Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad
The Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad (CACR) is an American local railroad company in Arizona . The company, based in Clarkdale, Arizona , operates the 62-kilometer route from Drake, Arizona to Clarkdale (Clarkdale branch). The owner is David L. Durbano's "The Western Group ".
The railway line was built on February 1, 1913 by the Santa Fe subsidiary Verde Valley Railroad, founded in 1911 . Initially, the railway was used to transport the copper from the mines near Jerome . As early as November 1, 1912, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway leased the line and finally acquired it in 1943. On April 14, 1989, the Arizona Central Railroad ( AAR reporting mark: AZCR) acquired the line. As part of a restructuring within the Western Group, the route and operations were transferred in 1997 to the Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad subsidiary.
The company has three locomotives (two EMD GP7 and one EMD GP9 ) and 17 employees. The company transports 1,500 freight cars annually. The main goods to be transported are coal and cement. The most important customer is the Phoenix cement plant at Clarkdale.
Since 1990, in addition to freight transport, tourist excursion transport has been carried out under the name Verde Canyon Railroad . The attraction is the Verde Canyon, through whose valley the railway line runs. Around 95,000 people are transported annually. For this, the company uses two EMD FP7s , several luxurious passenger cars and special open observation cars.
Web links
- Company website
- "Verde Canyon Railroad" on American Rails
- Photos of the vehicles
- Photo gallery on Verde Canyon Railroad with a focus on tourism