Rails to carry copper; a history of the Magma Arizona Railroad Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Chappell, Gordon S. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 11/10/2021 10:07:19 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551789 RAILS TO CARRY COPPER A HISTORY OF THE MAGMA ARIZONA RAILROAD by Gordon S. Chappell A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 6 5 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfill­ ment of requirements for an advanced degree at The Uni­ versity of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknow­ ledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: , Copyright by Gordon S. Chappell 1965 APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: JOHN ALEXANDER CARROLL Date Professor of History PREFACE The true story of a railroad lies not in its rec­ ords, not in the brittle pages of old newspapers, not in the finance dockets and valuation reports of the Interstate Commerce Commission, but in the hearts and minds of the people who have lived and worked with the line. It fol­ lows, therefore, that the historian seeking to set down the history of any particular railroad must go to the people involved. 1 have been fortunate in finding the people concerned with Magma Arizona Railroad Company so friendly and helpful. Above all, this thesis owes its very existence to Mr. T. G. Chilton, assistant to the president of the Magma Copper Company, himself a vice president of the San Manuel Arizona Railroad. "Jerry" Chilton permitted unlimited access to the old files of the railroad and, beyond that courtesy, showed the author around the Superior area and pointed out sites of activity now long forgotten. Mr. Chilton never failed to answer the author’s tiresome and seemingly endless requests for information. And I must not fail to mention the many enjoyable luncheons spent as Mr. Chilton’s guest, either at home, where his wife was a most gracious hostess, or at the Superior Rotary Club. Indeed, iii iv Mr. and Mrs. Chilton have added many moments of enjoyment to the long and exhausting task of research through a half century of railroad files. A diligent examination of the surviving records of the railroad company revealed many gaps in its history, gaps that were not filled in by local newspapers. It was then necessary to turn to the people who have long been ac­ quainted with the Magma Arizona. This trail led first to Frank Sarver, of Phoenix and Superior, president of the railroad and proprietor of the Magma Hotel. President Sarver gave freely of his time in both the towns he has called home to attempt to answer the author's complicated and detailed questions. His memory has filled many of the gaps in the railroad's records, and where it has not, he has sent the author down other trails. There were many people who recalled incidents of the railroad's past. Joe Thompson, director of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and nephew of the Colonel, brought his famous uncle vividly to life for the author with his many recollections. Ray Flint, of the Arboretum staff, supplied photographs showing the construction of the Colonel's "Picket Post House" part of which still stands on the brink of Queen Canyon. Mr. Flint suggested an interview with Charles G. Moody, of Mesa, who was in Superior even before construction of the railroad began. Mr. Moody proved V to be a copper mine of information, and provided the author with photographs of the town a year before the railroad was begun. Mr. Moody also directed the author to Raul Grijalva, whose memories of the people working for the railroad in those early years were particularly helpful, and to Jack Parr of Florence Junction. Mr. Parr was a section foreman on the narrow gauge line and recalled various operating practices as well as how the line was torn up, facts which appear nowhere in the written record. Furthermore, Mr. Parr's snapshot album provided many vignettes of life at Hewitt in the early days. In Superior, present employees of the railroad were equally helpful. Ray Medlock, purchasing agent for the Magma Arizona, spent many an hour talking with the author and thumbing through his files for facts and dates on numerous subjects. Hubert V. Steele, the general super­ intendent, brought out the detailed record of the filming done by Metro-GoIdwyn-Mayer several years ago, and General Manager Garvin L. Augustadt helped with a similar subject. Bernard Van Voorhis recounted his memories of Colonel Thompson's last years. Station Agent Ralph Metzger was extremely helpful in discussing present day operations. Engineer Lee L. Jeter and Fireman Sterling Tucker have each talked with the author several times about the engines they run and their daily routine. All have provided memories not obtainable elsewhere. Vi For information on the gasoline powered equipment used on the Magma Railroad, the author is indebted to George McDaniels, who also recalled one quite humorous in­ cident of the early days. In Phoenix, Edward G. Dentzer Jr., son of the railroad's chief engineer, and Bert Fire­ man, of the Arizona Historical Foundation, who spent part of his youth in Superior, both supplied answers to some of the author's questions. The story of one railroad such as the Magma can never properly be separated from the histories of other lines. One railroad connects with another, or with several. Equipment is bought and sold and exchanged throughout the industry, until some engines and cars collect a list of past owners which reads like a "Who's Who" of American rail­ roading. Moreover, because it is an integral part of the national economy, a railroad's history cannot be separated from that of the nation itself. The libraries of Arizona, while growing at an ex­ plosive rate, are still inadequate in the field of western railroading. The author, therefore, turned to a specialist in that area. I am obligated beyond measure to David F. Myrick of San Francisco, author of two beautiful and nearly exhaustive volumes on the history of Nevada railroads, who is presently engaged in a similarly monumental task in the State of Arizona. Mr. Myrick spent numerous hours obtaining vii and sending to the author material on railroads other than the Magma Arizona which could not be found in Arizona de­ positories. It is principally Mr. Myrick who has enabled the author to attempt to set the story of the Magma Arizona Railroad in a larger, more allusive frame, to place it, as it were, in a national perspective. The author must also thank the librarians who have aided him in this endeavor. At the Arizona Pioneers' His­ torical Society, Mrs. Nova Alderson, Miss Veronica Araneta, and Mrs. Glenda Cotrell were most helpful. In the Special Collections Division of the University of Arizona Library, there were Miss Phyllis Ball, B. McKay Greeley, and Mr. Joseph F. Park, curator of the Western Collection. At the Arizona State Archives in Phoenix, Mr. Joe Miller was a friendly guide through the intricacies of their collections. Two members of the faculty of the University of Arizona provided continual encouragement in the face of occasional discouraging setbacks encountered in any enter­ prise of this sort. Dr. Odie B. Faulk, one of these, was responsible in his splendid course in Arizona History, for pointing the author in the direction of this railroad his­ tory in the first place. The other one was Professor John Alexander Carroll, whose own beautiful and sophisticated prose continually arouses this writer's envy. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Carroll for his interest, advice, and help throughout this work. viii Finally, I must express my gratitude to Reyes Barraza and John Bardin West, presently of San Francisco, who first introduced me to the Magma Arizona Railroad five years ago and with whom I have spent many happy hours in the foothills of Pinal. Gordon S. Chappell Tucson, 1965 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. SILVER KING, SILVER QUEEN. ......... 1 II. PROPOSALS AND PROBLEMS ........... 37 III. RAILS AMID THE CACTUS. ..................... 65 IV. TIMETABLES, TRAINS, AND TROUBLES ...... 105 V. NEW RAILS TO SUPERIOR. ........... 174 VI. COLONEL THOMPSON'S RAILROAD. ........ 231 VII. SYMBOL OF A FADING AGE ........... 256 APPENDIX ................ 289 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......... 298 ix ABSTRACT During the 1870*s miners discovered rich silver mines they called the Silver King and Silver Queen in north­ ern Pinal County, Arizona. During that decade and the next two, a large amount of rich ore was shipped to distant smelters. Mining in this district, however, was greatly hampered by lack of railroad transportation, and though several railroads were planned, none materialized. Early in the twentieth century a new mining boom began with copper as its object. The Lake Superior and Arizona Mining Company operated sporadically for some years, and in 1910 the Magma Copper Company took over the old Silver Queen Mine and developed it for copper.