- Privacy
- Terms
- Stay Connected
The morning sun casts long shadows across the rusting rails that cut through the ponderosa pine forests of Arizona’s Mogollon Rim country. These weathered tracks, some still gleaming with use, others disappearing beneath encroaching vegetation, tell the story of the Apache Railway—a short-line railroad that has been both economic lifeline and historical treasure for the communities of Arizona’s White Mountains. Unlike many of the state’s ghost railways that disappeared completely as mining booms faded, the Apache Railway offers a more nuanced narrative of adaptation, survival, and the changing face of Arizona’s industrial landscape.
The Apache Railway’s story begins in 1917 when the Apache Lumber Company sought a way to transport timber from the vast ponderosa pine forests near Snowflake to its sawmill operations. Unlike the mining railways that dominated much of Arizona’s early railroad development, the Apache was born from the timber industry—a distinction that would ultimately contribute to its longevity beyond the boom-and-bust cycles that doomed many mining lines.
The original 45-mile route connected the remote lumber camps in the forests near Snowflake to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway at Holbrook. This connection was crucial—it linked the isolated timber operations of eastern Arizona to national markets and transformed the economics of the region. What had been a difficult, time-consuming wagon haul became an efficient rail journey that opened new possibilities for the area’s natural resources.
Construction of the line was an engineering challenge worthy of respect. Workers carved the route through rugged terrain, building bridges over canyons and navigating the significant elevation changes between Holbrook at 5,080 feet and the forests near Snowflake at over 6,000 feet. Most of the labor came from local ranchers, Native Americans from nearby reservations, and experienced railroad workers brought in from larger operations. The combination of local knowledge and technical expertise produced a functional industrial railway that would far outlive its original purpose.
Unlike the ghost towns that dot many abandoned Arizona rail corridors, the communities served by the Apache Railway have largely survived, though their relationship with the railroad has evolved dramatically over time.
Holbrook, the railway’s junction with the mainline Santa Fe (now BNSF), began as a wild railroad town but transitioned to a more diversified economy as a county seat and later a tourism center on Route 66. Today, visitors to Holbrook might easily overlook the small yard where the Apache Railway connects to the transcontinental line, but this junction remains vital to the regional economy.
Snowflake and Taylor, the communities most closely tied to the railway’s fate, demonstrate how transportation infrastructure creates lasting settlement patterns even as economic foundations shift. Founded by Mormon pioneers in the 1870s, these towns predated the railway but grew substantially with the arrival of rail service. The Snowflake paper mill and its associated railway operations became the largest employers in these communities, creating a classic company town dynamic where the fate of the railroad and the towns became inextricably linked.
Stations and water stops that once punctuated the line have largely disappeared. Places like Pinedale and McNary, which once buzzed with activity as logs were loaded onto flatcars, have either dwindled or disappeared entirely. The physical remnants of these places—concrete foundations, the occasional rusting piece of loading equipment—stand as subtle reminders of how transportation networks both create and abandon communities as economic needs evolve.
The Apache Railway might have followed the fate of dozens of other logging railroads that disappeared when timber supplies dwindled, but its trajectory changed dramatically in 1961. That year marked the opening of the Snowflake Paper Mill, which created a new purpose for the railway and ensured its continued operation decades after similar short lines had vanished.
The Southwest Forest Industries (later Stone Container Corporation) paper mill represented a significant evolution in the area’s forest products industry. Rather than simply extracting raw timber, the mill created a value-added product that provided more jobs and greater economic stability. The railway adapted accordingly, transitioning from hauling raw logs to transporting finished paper products outbound and bringing in the chemicals, coal, and other supplies needed for paper production.
This industrial evolution strengthened the Apache Railway’s importance to the region. No longer just a logging line, it became an essential transportation artery for a major manufacturing operation. The paper mill employed hundreds of workers and became the economic anchor for communities like Snowflake and Taylor. Without the railway’s reliable connection to national transportation networks, this industrial development would have been impossible in such a remote location.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Shortline railroad |
| Location | Navajo County, central Arizona |
| Route | Holbrook to Snowflake/Paper Mill (38 miles) |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Status | Active (one of Arizona’s few surviving shortline railroads) |
| Original Purpose | Constructed to serve the Cady Lumber Company in McNary |
| Historical Connection | Originally connected to Apache Lumber Company operations |
| Key Historical Owner | Southwest Forest Industries |
| Current Owner | Aztec Land and Cattle Company (since 2012) |
| Connection | Interchanges with BNSF Railway at Holbrook |
| Notable Crisis | Nearly abandoned in 2012 when Catalyst Paper Mill closed |
| Revival | Saved through community and business efforts |
| Current Traffic | Forest products, chemicals, agricultural products, local freight |
| Track Gauge | Standard (4 ft 8½ in) |
| Terrain | Rises from desert into Arizona’s White Mountains |
| Elevation Change | Approximately 2,000 feet from Holbrook to Snowflake |
| Historical Equipment | Steam locomotives (historically); now diesel |
| Economic Impact | Vital transportation link for local industries |
| Communities Served | Holbrook, Snowflake, Taylor |
The Apache Railway represents a rare survivor among Arizona’s numerous historic railroads. Unlike many lines that became “ghost railways” after the decline of mining and logging industries, the Apache Railway has continued operations by adapting to changing economic conditions. Its near-closure in 2012 after the shutdown of its primary customer (the Catalyst Paper Mill) threatened to add it to Arizona’s list of abandoned railways, but community and business intervention preserved this important piece of Arizona’s transportation infrastructure. The railway now serves various industries and remains an important economic link for the communities along its route in the White Mountains region.
What distinguished the Apache Railway from many of Arizona’s abandoned lines was its continued operation as a working railroad well into the 21st century. While tourists flocked to ride heritage operations like the Grand Canyon Railway, the Apache continued doing what it was built for—moving freight efficiently through challenging terrain.
The railway’s motive power evolved with technology and economics. Early operations relied on steam locomotives, typically secondhand engines acquired from larger railroads. By the 1950s, the line had transitioned to diesel power, with a small roster of EMD switchers and road engines handling the traffic. These workhorse locomotives, painted in simple but distinctive yellow and black livery, became familiar sights to generations of residents.
Operations focused on functionality rather than flash. Trains typically ran five days a week, with schedules dictated by the paper mill’s needs rather than passenger convenience. After passenger service ended in the early 1950s, the Apache settled into its role as a purely industrial carrier—a working railroad rather than a tourist attraction or historical curiosity.
The railroad maintained workshops at Snowflake where a small but skilled workforce kept the aging equipment running. These facilities, with their corrugated metal buildings and surrounded by spare parts, represented another distinction from ghost railroads—the Apache was maintained, adapted, and kept technologically current enough to serve its industrial purpose. While never lavish or particularly modern by Class I railroad standards, the Apache remained functional when many similar short lines had long since been abandoned.
The Apache Railway faced its greatest existential threat in 2012 when the Catalyst Paper Corporation closed the Snowflake paper mill. This closure, driven by changing market conditions and increasing environmental regulations, eliminated the railway’s primary customer and threw its future into doubt. Without the mill’s regular shipments, the economic rationale for maintaining the 45-mile line seemed to have disappeared.
Many similar short lines faced with such circumstances would have been quickly abandoned, their rails pulled up and sold for scrap, their rights-of-way left to return to nature. The Apache’s story might have ended there, joining dozens of other ghost railways across Arizona that disappeared when their economic purpose evaporated.
What happened instead demonstrated the unique relationship between this railway and its communities. Rather than accepting abandonment, a coalition of local governments, businesses, and economic development organizations banded together to purchase the railroad. In 2015, formed an entity called the Snowflake Community Foundation purchased the Apache Railway for approximately $4.4 million, with the stated goal of maintaining this critical transportation infrastructure for future economic development.
This community-based rescue represented an almost unprecedented development in short-line railroad history. Most abandoned lines disappear because their communities lack either the resources or the collective will to save them. The Apache’s preservation spoke to both its continued potential economic value and its place in the cultural identity of the region.
Today, the Apache Railway exists in an intermediate state between active railroad and historical relic. Portions of the line continue to see regular use, serving remaining customers and providing connection to the national rail network via BNSF at Holbrook. Other sections see only occasional maintenance traffic or stand unused but intact, preserved for potential future needs rather than abandoned.
The physical condition of the railway reflects this dual status. Active portions are maintained to modern safety standards, with regular track inspection and maintenance. Less-used sections show signs of deterioration—sunbaked ties, vegetation encroaching on the ballast, fading signs—but remain fundamentally intact and serviceable. This physical state mirrors the Apache’s status—neither fully active nor truly abandoned, but preserved in a state of operational readiness.
Visually, the line offers a compelling journey through both geography and history. From the junction at Holbrook, the tracks strike southeast through increasingly forested terrain. Wooden trestles, some dating to the original construction, still carry the tracks over dry washes and small canyons. Period structures including water towers, section houses, and loading platforms appear at intervals, some maintained, others slowly returning to nature.
The most visible and accessible portion of the line runs parallel to State Route 77 between Holbrook and Snowflake, allowing travelers to glimpse this working historical artifact. More remote sections require deliberate exploration on forest roads, rewarding the historically minded visitor with views of vintage railway structures set against the backdrop of the Mogollon Rim country.
The Apache Railway’s significance extends beyond its economic role. As one of Arizona’s few surviving early 20th century short-line railroads, it represents an important piece of the state’s transportation heritage. Unlike lines that were built for mining booms and abandoned when the ore ran out, the Apache represents the more sustainable development of the state’s forest resources—an industry that, while changed, continues to this day.
The railway’s built environment—from bridges to buildings—constitutes a valuable historical resource. Many structures date to the original 1917-1918 construction, providing examples of industrial architecture adapted to local conditions and materials. The line’s engineering features, including cuts, fills, and trestles, demonstrate early 20th century railroad construction techniques that have largely disappeared elsewhere.
Preservation efforts focus primarily on maintaining the railway as a working entity rather than a pure historical artifact. This pragmatic approach recognizes that the Apache’s best chance for survival is continued relevance rather than museum status. However, the railway’s owners and supporters have increasingly recognized its historical value, documenting significant structures and equipment for their cultural as well as practical value.
The Apache Railway Historic Preservation Committee, formed in 2016, works to document the line’s history through photographs, oral histories, and artifact collection. Their efforts have created a substantial archive that ensures the railway’s story will be preserved even as its physical infrastructure evolves to meet contemporary needs.
Unlike many of Arizona’s ghost railways that exist only in historical photographs and fading rights-of-way, the Apache Railway’s future remains open. Current operations continue at a reduced level, serving remaining customers and maintaining the infrastructure for potential expansion. Economic development efforts focus on attracting new industries to the region that could utilize rail service, potentially breathing new life into sections of track that currently see little use.
Tourism and heritage operations remain a possibility, though secondary to freight service. Proposals for excursion trains highlighting the line’s scenic route through the Mogollon Rim country emerge periodically, though implementation has been limited by financial constraints and the priority placed on freight operations.
The broader significance of the Apache Railway’s survival lies in what it represents for rural infrastructure preservation. While many communities across Arizona and the broader Southwest have lost their rail connections forever, the Apache demonstrates an alternative approach—maintaining transportation assets through difficult transitions with an eye toward future needs rather than short-term economics.
As climate change and energy costs make efficient freight transportation increasingly important, preserved rail corridors like the Apache may prove prescient investments. The line’s continued existence, even in a reduced operational state, keeps options open for the communities it has served for over a century.
For those interested in experiencing this piece of living railroad history, several vantage points offer views of the Apache Railway’s operations and infrastructure.
The junction with BNSF at Holbrook provides the most accessible viewing point. From publicly accessible areas near the small yard, visitors can see the connection between the short line and the transcontinental railroad, occasionally witnessing the interchange of cars between the two systems. The Navajo County Historical Society Museum in Holbrook contains exhibits on the railway’s history and its role in regional development.
Along State Route 77 between Holbrook and Snowflake, numerous pullouts and cross roads offer views of the right-of-way. Particularly scenic sections include the areas near Dry Lake and the approach to Snowflake, where the line winds through increasing pine forest. Public roads cross the tracks at numerous points, allowing photographers to capture images of this working historical railroad.
The Snowflake-Taylor Chamber of Commerce offers occasional organized tours of railway facilities for those interested in more detailed exploration. These tours provide access to areas not normally open to the public, including maintenance facilities and historic structures, though they require advance arrangement.
Visitors should remember that the Apache remains an active railroad with all the associated hazards. Safety and respect for private property should guide any exploration of the line. Many historic structures remain in private ownership, requiring permission for close inspection or photography.
The Apache Railway offers a different narrative than many of Arizona’s ghost railroads. Rather than a dramatic story of explosive growth followed by abandonment and decay, it presents a chronicle of adaptation, community commitment, and the long-term value of transportation infrastructure.
In a state where many historic railways exist only as hiking trails, museum displays, or forgotten grades returning to desert, the Apache continues to serve its original purpose—connecting the communities and resources of Arizona’s White Mountains to the wider world. This continuity, despite economic challenges that would have doomed many similar operations, speaks to both the railway’s importance to its region and the commitment of generations who have maintained it through changing times.
The silent stretches of less-used track, the weathered but maintained trestles, and the occasional freight movements all tell the story of a railway that has refused to become a ghost. Instead, it has evolved—becoming smaller and more focused than in its heyday, but remaining fundamentally intact and functional.
As we consider the fate of rural infrastructure in an era of centralization and abandonment, the Apache Railway offers an important case study in preservation through adaptation. Neither fully consigned to history nor operating at its historical peak, it demonstrates how transportation networks can evolve rather than disappear—continuing to serve their communities while maintaining connections to their historical origins.
In the end, the Apache Railway is neither boom nor bust, but something more nuanced and ultimately more sustaining—a persistent presence that continues to bind communities to their past while maintaining options for their future.