File:Ferrocarril del Pacifico timetable 9 - pg 4 - Nacozari District (51667435649).jpg

This is the Nacozari district, the branch from Agua Prieta, Sonora/Douglas, Arizona, south to the mining town of Nacozari.

Ferrocarril de Nacozari and the Phelps-Dodge mines at Nacozari, Sonora

This line was built as the Ferrocarril de Nacozari. The company was incorporated in March 10, 1899, after Phelps-Dodge acquired the mines at Nacozari, Sonora, from the Guggenheim interests. Construction started at Agua Prieta, the small border town south of the huge Phelps Dodge smelter at Douglas, and continued along the banks of the San Pedro River to Nacozari, 75 miles away.

The road was operated by the El Paso & Southwestern, which was in turn owned by Phelps-Dodge, as a separate entity with its own power.

Southern Pacific Takes Control

The Southern Pacific bought the El Paso & Southwestern in November, 1924, and the Nacozari continued as a separate operation. The line was profitable until the Great Depression, but after that, it continuously lost money.

The Great Depression shut down virtually all of the Phelps Dodge mines. By 1932, there was over a billion pounds of finished copper lying unsold around the various PD operations.

The company reduced operations at Bisbee to working just twelve days per month. Morenci and Nacozari were closed entirely.

On December 21, 1931, Moncteczuma laid off almost all of their employees. The town of Nacozari virtually ceased to exist after Phelps Dodge bought train tickets for each of the 6800 residents to leave.

Copper prices eventually rose high enough to justify reopening the Monteczuma mines in September, 1937.

At the request of the United States War Department, Phelps Dodge substantially increased production at their Pilares mine and concentrator. Once the War ended, however, production plunged. Phelps Dodge ended all underground mining in Mexico in 1950 but continued leaching copper at Nacozari until 1960.

The Nacozari Railroad was the last part of the Southern Pacific to operate under steam, the last run being Monday, January 16, 1959 with a leased Southern Pacific 2-8-0. After that, a pair of lightweight SP Baldwin DRS-6-4-1500s took over.

Once the leaching operations ended, revenue for the railroad dropped even further, and Southern Pacific decided to abandon the Nacozari Railroad. It notified Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation (SCT) that August 16, 1961, would be the last day of operation.

Rescue by the Federal Government

Under Mexican law, abandonment meant the Nacozari would forfeit its franchise and loose all rights to the property, structures, right of way, and rolling stock.

The Federal government still saw a future for the railroad, and arrangements were made with the Secretaria de Patrimonio Nacional (the National Trust) to take over the property before actual abandonment occurred.

The line passed into Mexican Federal government control on August 15, 1965. The railroad was operated directly by the SCT. The transfer included all of the railroad's rolling stock, which included an RPO-Express car, three coaches, 22 gondolas, three boxcars, and two flatcars.

SCT arranged to buy the two Baldwin DRS-6-4-1500's from the SP, 5200 and 5201, and these were repainted in bright orange and black by the SP at the Douglas shops.

The SCT also arranged to use the ex-Northern Pacific FT A and B unit from the Sonora Baja California.

Ferrocarril del Pacifico Takes Control

The Nacozari Railroad became part of the Ferrocarril del Pacifico on June 15, 1968, and a huge $10 million peso rehabilitation project was begun.

A huge new copper mine began operation in June, 1986, and this line was an important part of the branch line system to Nogales.

Under this 1970 timetable, which was still in use until the early 1980's, mixed train No. 26 left Agua Prieta at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and took 4 hours and 10 minutes to arrive in Nacozari at 2:10 p.m.

On Wednesday and Saturday, the northbound mixed, Train 25, left Nacozari at 6 a.m. and arrived at 9:55 a.m. at Augua Prieta on Wednesday and Saturday.

Both trains ran all the way to Nogales.

Power in the late 1970's was whatever four axle units were at Norgales, usually M420TR's and U23B's, and the trains ran with a coach in front of the caboose.