Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad

Silver City, Pinos Altos and Mogollon Railroad (SC,PA&M) was a 2-foot narrow-gauge railway serving copper mines along the Continental Divide [Shaw 1958 p.177] in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico. The communities of Silver City and Pinos Altos developed as 19th century miners recovered easily extracted gold and silver from ore deposits of the area. Standard-gauge Santa Fe Railroad reached Silver City in 1886, and SC,PA&M was formed to reach Pinos Altos. Construction lagged until Comanche Mining and Smelting purchased the railroad and many of the smaller mines in the area as horse-drawn ore transport became uneconomical. Two Shay locomotives were moved to Silver City in 1905 from the Gilpin tramway of Gilpin County, Colorado.

Numerous ore gondolas, slag dump cars, and flatcars were assembled locally. Two new locomotives were purchased while the older locomotives handled construction trains. When regular service was established, the newer locomotives transported ore 15.4 miles from the mines to ore concentrators and smelters in Silver City. Mining equipment was transported back to the mines in empty gondolas. The older locomotives shunted cars around the smelters and transported slag from the smelters to disposal sites. There was one boxcar, one caboose, and one tank car. The tank car carried boiler water for the locomotives. Another larger locomotive was purchased in 1907. A 7-stall engine-house was constructed in anticipation of two more locomotives, but operations ceased after the price of copper plunged in 1907. The line operated briefly after copper prices recovered in 1910, and was scrapped in 1913.

Locomotives

References

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