E.P.&S.W.Depot and Park
Posted by: 
rambles
N 32° 13.214 W 110° 58.700
12S E 502041 N 3564847
The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad started in 1888 as a thirty six mile long railroad from the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, Arizona and was extended in 1912.
Waymark Code: WM3E1B
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 03/21/2008
Views: 43
The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad started in 1888 as a thirty six mile long railroad from the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee, Arizona to connect with the Santa Fe's Arizona & New Mexico Railroad at Fairbank, AZ. It was called the Arizona & Southeastern Railroad. It was mainly used to transport copper from Bisbee to a refinery in El Paso, TX. On June 25th, 1901 the Phelps Dodge Corp. formed El Paso & Southwestern Railroad Company and transferred the Arizona & Southeastern Railroad to the EP&SW. In 1912 it was extended to Tucson AZ as one of many branches.
Following WWI the price of copper dropped causing traffic in Arizona to be drastically reduced. In 1924 Phelps Dodge sold the EP&SW to Southern Pacific. The 'southline' as the route to Tucson was called continued to drop and in 1961 the line ceased to exist.
The Southern Pacific route is different through Tucson and the old EP&SW depot and tracks were abandoned. The depot is currently used for offices and a restaurant and some major interior renovations are being done. If you peak through the glass of the front door you can see some beautiful stained glass (http://home.earthlink.net/~pmcclosky/epsw.louvanwinkle.html .
You can also follow quite a bit of the track for several blocks north and south of the depot where they survive due to running near I-10. Part of the tracks south of the depot are being turned into a greenway to give bike and pedestrian access from South Tucson to downtown Tucson (http://dot.ci.tucson.az.us/planning/pdfs/GREENWAY%20FACT%20SHEET10-07.pdf .
Marker Name: E.P.&S.W.Depot and Park
Type of history commemorated: Place
County: Pima
Name of any agency/ agencies setting marker:
Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission and the Arizona Historical Society
Year placed: No shown on marker
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