Early days on the Copper Basin...here is the OT-1 westbound leaving Hayden yard with an ex Kennecott Copper unit, an ex SP SD39 and an ex NP GP9 headed westbound to the mine.

The OT-1 (Ore Train 1) is eastbound at Tilbury Road crossing in Kearny. Some nice old sports cars happened to be parked in the right place for the photo.

OT1 passes through Ray Jct and is about to enter Tunnel #2 on it's southbound trip to Hayden, AZ

OT1 crosses AZ Rt 177 as it leaves the mine at Ray, AZ with another load of ore for the Hayden smelter.

An empty hopper train returns to the mine at Ray, AZ to gather another load of copper ore for the smelter in Hayden, AZ

A southbound ore train exits Tunnel #2 at a leisurely 10 mph on the way to Hayden, AZ

Downtown Tacoma's Skyline provides an interesting backdrop for the nighttime work that goes on in it's backyard; The Tideflats. In this scene Job 251, using a rebuilt GP30 from CB&Q lineage, is d... (more)

Copper Basin Railway #401 leads the first ore train of the day, OT-1, into Hayden, AZ. Hayden is the location of the massive ASARCO copper smelter, which keeps this shortline busy nearly 24/7.

Copper Basin Railway #402 leads a sulfuric acid train downgrade from the ASARCO smelter. The train is about to enter the Copper Basin mainline at Hayden. The smelter, the reason for this shortline... (more)

Copper Basin Railway‘s empty ore train No. OT-2 rumbles through Ray Junction, Arizona, on March 29, 2010. Spring has sprung in the high desert, as the Gila River is running brown and a hillside of... (more)

The Engineer is a lone figure sitting in the cab of BNSF 2967 waiting for a southbound train to clear the main. When the rest of the crew arrives, a Lite Power move will take place to the BNSF Eas... (more)

A spring rainshower moves through the Sonoran desert north of Phoenix as the afternoon transfer between Hayden and the ASARCO mine at Ray, Arizona climbs away from Ray Junction, three GP39's inclu... (more)