| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Ruth, Nevada |
| Reporting mark | BHP |
| Locale | Northern Nevada Shafter – Ely |
| Dates of operation | January 1996–July 9, 1999 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The BHP Nevada Railroad( reporting mark BHP) was a shortline railroad that operated in Nevada from 1996 to 1999. BHP acquired the line from Nevada Northern Railway. Constructed by Utah Construction Company in 1908, [1] the railroad hauled copper ore concentrate from BHP's concentrator at Riepetown to Shafter, Nevada. At Shafter the railroad interchanged with the Union Pacific and the ore continued to BHP's smelter at San Manuel, Arizona. BHP is an Australian-based company that took over Magma Copper, the owner of the Robinson Mine at Ruth, Nevada, in January 1996. The line ran south from a connection with the Union Pacific at Shafter to Ely.
The BHP Nevada Railroad used five former Southern Pacific Railroad EMD SD9 locomotives built between 1954 and 1956 to operate over the line. They were numbered #201 – 205. For switching and local operations the railroad used two GE 70-ton switchers from the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. BHP also had one ALCO RS-3. The switchers were also built in the 1950s and numbered #12 and #13.
BHP ended up turning over its locomotives and rolling stock to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum as part of a settlement over their track lease agreement. [2]
A small portion of the BHP Nevada Railroad was operated over the Nevada Northern Railway Museum tracks with trackage rights between East Ely and Ruth. The line was abandoned in 1999 when copper mining was discontinued, however in 2004 the mines were reopened, and the copper concentrate was hauled by road. The disused line between Ely and Cobre was acquired by the city of Ely in 2006.
Former BHP Nevada #204 was part of a contest by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum to design a locomotive to celebrate the United States Semiquincentennial. [3] BHP Nevada #204 will be renumbered as #250 and repainted in the winning design for the 2026 celebrations.
Stations, listed from north to south:
Ely is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later than the other towns along US 50. The railroads connecting the transcontinental railroad to the mines in Austin, Nevada and Eureka, Nevada have long been removed, but the railroad to Ely is preserved as a heritage railway by the Nevada Northern Railway and known as the Ghost Train of Old Ely. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,924.
The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays. Shay locomotives were especially suited to logging, mining and industrial operations and could operate successfully on steep or poor quality track.
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The Magma Arizona Railroad was built by the Magma Copper Company and operated from 1915 to 1997.
The Nevada Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Nevada, built primarily to reach a major copper producing area in White Pine County, Nevada. The railway, constructed in 1905–06, extended northward about 140 miles (230 km) from Ely to connections with the Western Pacific Railroad at Shafter and Southern Pacific Railroad at Cobre. In 1967 NN reported 40 million net ton-miles of revenue freight on 162 miles (261 km) of line.
The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada, owned by the State of Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
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Ruth is a census-designated place (CDP) in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Founded in 1903, it had a population of 440 at the 2010 census.
The Indian Valley (IV) Railroad was a shortline railroad that was constructed from the Engels Copper Mine to a connection with the Western Pacific Railroad at Paxton, in Plumas County, northeastern California.
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Quartette or Quartette Mill or Quartette Landing, was a mining settlement, location of the stamp mill of the Quartette Mining Company, owner of the largest mine in the Searchlight Mining District and a steamboat landing on the Colorado River, in what is now Clark County, Nevada. It lay at an elevation of 646 feet.
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