Hardscrabble Hayden
In a scene seemingly lifted right from an episode of Breaking Bad Walter White would be right at home here near the corner of San Pedro Ave and 7th St. in the dying town of Hayden as an afternoon Copper Basin Railway freight rumbles down the high line toward Hayden Jct.
A true company town the town of Hayden was founded in 1909 as a wholly owned entity of the Ray Consolidated Copper Company, part of the Guggenheim corporate group which also held the controlling interest in the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO). In 1912, the company
completed construction of the Hayden smelter and began processing ore from the Ray copper mine near Kearny, 17 miles away. The Ray mine was eventually purchased by Kennecott Copper in 1933. The purchase also included the town of Hayden. In 1954, Kennecott sold the town of Hayden to the John W. Galbreath Development Corporation. Hayden was subsequently incorporated as an independent municipality in 1958. Tidy, prosperous and seemingly lifted right from an episode of Leave it to Beaver, Hayden was named an All American City in 1955 befitting the likes of June Cleaver. But fast forward another half century and that Hayden is nowhere to be found and today the community is a pretty sad place. Having lost a full 3/4th of the population it had a century prior it is slowly becoming a ghost town in slow moving real time.
Many businesses have closed and the buildings that hosted them appear abandoned. It is estimated that there are
about 50 families that live in town. It once had a bank, a pharmacy, a theater, a bowling alley, a bar, and a few eating establishments, but not anymore. In Hayden, the public pool is now closed the entire year, even though the air temperature usually exceeds 100 degrees during the summer months. The Hayden Public Library closed its doors at the end of July 2020. The senior center and police department about all that are left operating these days.
Here are a few short articles that tell the story and complement this image if you're interested: www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/381
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.azcentral.com/amp/100765600
Anyway, this afternoon freight job will drop the hoppers and do some switching before heading out around dusk toward the mine with the evening unit acid train that takes sulfuric acid produced as a byproduct at the smelter out to the mine for use in the underground leaching operations known as solvent extraction-electrowinning or SX-EW. To learn more if interested check out this article: www.copper.org/publications/newsletters/innovations/2001/...
This two mile branch is now operated by the Copper Basin Railway (since 1986) but historically was Kennecott Copper property and operated by their connecting carrier, the Southern Pacific. The SP owned the 54 mile branch from Magma Jct. (on the Phoenix Line main) to Winkelman from 1907 until 1986. Although, interestingly, the line built between 1902-1904 as the Phoenix and Eastern was leased to the Santa Fe for its first three years.
As Don Strack explained:
The town of Hayden, Arizona, was founded in 1909 as a wholly owned entity of the Ray Consolidated Copper Company, part of the Guggenheim corporate group which also held the controlling interest in American Smelting & Refining Co. The town was located near the confluence of the Gila and San Pedro rivers. In 1912 the company completed construction of the Hayden smelter and began processing ore from the Ray underground copper mine, north and east of Hayden. Ray Consolidated was purchased by Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, and then by Kennecott Copper in 1933. Through this purchase Kennecott acquired ownership of the company town of Hayden.
In 1958 Kennecott began operating a second smelter in Hayden and for the first time the original 1912 smelter no longer processed ore from Ray Mine, though it did process ores from the nearby Pima, Duval, Bagdad, Cyprus, Silver Bell, and Mission mines.
Ultimately Kennecott shuttered its smelter in 1982 after 22 years (it wasn't demolished until 2004) and again began sending their ore to the orignal ASARCO smelter that was modernized in 1983. Today it is one of only three copper smelters left operating in the US along with Rio Tinto's ex Kennecott facility in Garfield, UT and Freeport McMoran's operation in Miami, AZ.
Check out this link for some facts from ASARCO's site:
www.asarco.com/about-us/our-locations/hayden-operations/
The town and the company have not been without controversy and while railfans know it for the CBRY most of the world knows of Hayden for its abominable environmental record and the staggering health effects on the citizens. If you care to learn more start here:
tucson.com/business/local/asarco-mining-giant-notching-10...
publicintegrity.org/environment/in-smelter-town-decades-o...
The Copper Basin has operated the 54 mile long Magma - Winkelman former Southern Pacific branchline since 1986. That year the SP sold the line to Kennecott Copper which immediately turned around and sold it along with their 7 mile private mine haul railroad from Ray mine to Ray Jct. and their branch from Hayden Jct. up to the Hayden smelter to create the CBRY. Later that same year Kennecott turned around and sold their Ray mine and all Hayden operations to ASARCO, operator of the original 1912 smelter in Hayden. ASARCO was purchased by Grupo Mexico in 1999 which they then lost control of when ASARCO declared bankruptcy in 2005 following an internal dispute over the ownership of Southern Peru Copper Company, one of ASARCO's major assets prior to Grupo Mexico's purchase of ASARCO in 1999. In 2009 Grupo Mexico regained control of ASARCO after the bankruptcy court approved the sale.
Independent for its first 20 yrs, the CBRY was purchased by ASARCO (virtually its sole reason for existence now) in 2006.
Power for this job consists of CBRY 303, 401, & 301. 303 is an EMD GP40-2 blt. Oct. 1984 as SSW 7268. 401 is an EMD GP39 blt. Jun. 1970 as KCCX 1 and is on home rails on this bit of former Kennecott track. Lastly 301 is an EMD GP40 blt. Sep. 1967 as LN 3023.
Hayden, Arizona
Sunday October 18, 2015
Hardscrabble Hayden
In a scene seemingly lifted right from an episode of Breaking Bad Walter White would be right at home here near the corner of San Pedro Ave and 7th St. in the dying town of Hayden as an afternoon Copper Basin Railway freight rumbles down the high line toward Hayden Jct.
A true company town the town of Hayden was founded in 1909 as a wholly owned entity of the Ray Consolidated Copper Company, part of the Guggenheim corporate group which also held the controlling interest in the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO). In 1912, the company
completed construction of the Hayden smelter and began processing ore from the Ray copper mine near Kearny, 17 miles away. The Ray mine was eventually purchased by Kennecott Copper in 1933. The purchase also included the town of Hayden. In 1954, Kennecott sold the town of Hayden to the John W. Galbreath Development Corporation. Hayden was subsequently incorporated as an independent municipality in 1958. Tidy, prosperous and seemingly lifted right from an episode of Leave it to Beaver, Hayden was named an All American City in 1955 befitting the likes of June Cleaver. But fast forward another half century and that Hayden is nowhere to be found and today the community is a pretty sad place. Having lost a full 3/4th of the population it had a century prior it is slowly becoming a ghost town in slow moving real time.
Many businesses have closed and the buildings that hosted them appear abandoned. It is estimated that there are
about 50 families that live in town. It once had a bank, a pharmacy, a theater, a bowling alley, a bar, and a few eating establishments, but not anymore. In Hayden, the public pool is now closed the entire year, even though the air temperature usually exceeds 100 degrees during the summer months. The Hayden Public Library closed its doors at the end of July 2020. The senior center and police department about all that are left operating these days.
Here are a few short articles that tell the story and complement this image if you're interested: www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/381
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.azcentral.com/amp/100765600
Anyway, this afternoon freight job will drop the hoppers and do some switching before heading out around dusk toward the mine with the evening unit acid train that takes sulfuric acid produced as a byproduct at the smelter out to the mine for use in the underground leaching operations known as solvent extraction-electrowinning or SX-EW. To learn more if interested check out this article: www.copper.org/publications/newsletters/innovations/2001/...
This two mile branch is now operated by the Copper Basin Railway (since 1986) but historically was Kennecott Copper property and operated by their connecting carrier, the Southern Pacific. The SP owned the 54 mile branch from Magma Jct. (on the Phoenix Line main) to Winkelman from 1907 until 1986. Although, interestingly, the line built between 1902-1904 as the Phoenix and Eastern was leased to the Santa Fe for its first three years.
As Don Strack explained:
The town of Hayden, Arizona, was founded in 1909 as a wholly owned entity of the Ray Consolidated Copper Company, part of the Guggenheim corporate group which also held the controlling interest in American Smelting & Refining Co. The town was located near the confluence of the Gila and San Pedro rivers. In 1912 the company completed construction of the Hayden smelter and began processing ore from the Ray underground copper mine, north and east of Hayden. Ray Consolidated was purchased by Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, and then by Kennecott Copper in 1933. Through this purchase Kennecott acquired ownership of the company town of Hayden.
In 1958 Kennecott began operating a second smelter in Hayden and for the first time the original 1912 smelter no longer processed ore from Ray Mine, though it did process ores from the nearby Pima, Duval, Bagdad, Cyprus, Silver Bell, and Mission mines.
Ultimately Kennecott shuttered its smelter in 1982 after 22 years (it wasn't demolished until 2004) and again began sending their ore to the orignal ASARCO smelter that was modernized in 1983. Today it is one of only three copper smelters left operating in the US along with Rio Tinto's ex Kennecott facility in Garfield, UT and Freeport McMoran's operation in Miami, AZ.
Check out this link for some facts from ASARCO's site:
www.asarco.com/about-us/our-locations/hayden-operations/
The town and the company have not been without controversy and while railfans know it for the CBRY most of the world knows of Hayden for its abominable environmental record and the staggering health effects on the citizens. If you care to learn more start here:
tucson.com/business/local/asarco-mining-giant-notching-10...
publicintegrity.org/environment/in-smelter-town-decades-o...
The Copper Basin has operated the 54 mile long Magma - Winkelman former Southern Pacific branchline since 1986. That year the SP sold the line to Kennecott Copper which immediately turned around and sold it along with their 7 mile private mine haul railroad from Ray mine to Ray Jct. and their branch from Hayden Jct. up to the Hayden smelter to create the CBRY. Later that same year Kennecott turned around and sold their Ray mine and all Hayden operations to ASARCO, operator of the original 1912 smelter in Hayden. ASARCO was purchased by Grupo Mexico in 1999 which they then lost control of when ASARCO declared bankruptcy in 2005 following an internal dispute over the ownership of Southern Peru Copper Company, one of ASARCO's major assets prior to Grupo Mexico's purchase of ASARCO in 1999. In 2009 Grupo Mexico regained control of ASARCO after the bankruptcy court approved the sale.
Independent for its first 20 yrs, the CBRY was purchased by ASARCO (virtually its sole reason for existence now) in 2006.
Power for this job consists of CBRY 303, 401, & 301. 303 is an EMD GP40-2 blt. Oct. 1984 as SSW 7268. 401 is an EMD GP39 blt. Jun. 1970 as KCCX 1 and is on home rails on this bit of former Kennecott track. Lastly 301 is an EMD GP40 blt. Sep. 1967 as LN 3023.
Hayden, Arizona
Sunday October 18, 2015