Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rolling across the American Southwest between Tucson and El Paso, The Lordsburg Subdivision has been an integral part of the Sunset Route since its rails were first spiked down in 1880.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we covered the west half of the subdivision through Arizona between Tucson and Steins. In Part 2, we continue east to El Paso as trains race across desert of southwestern New Mexico and into the Rio Grande Valley.
At Lordsburg, Arizona Eastern’s Clifton Branch provides access to the impressive Morenci Copper Mine. We will visit this fascinating operation complete with its own railroad: the Freeport-McMoRan Industrial. Watch a quintet of non-turbocharged GP38-2’s and dash 3’s battle a five percent ruling grade out of Clifton, Arizona.
Back on the UP main line, heavy stack trains over three miles long sprint across the desert, passing old lava flows and ghost towns. We will visit UP’s busy Santa Teresa Intermodal Facility which first opened in 2014. It is an important hub linking Los Angeles with Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, and Mexico. Finally, we will cross the Rio Grande River into the west Texas town of El Paso.
This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. 7ideaproductions.com/collections/frontpage/products/union-pacifics-lordsburg-subdivision-part-2
Rolling across the American Southwest between Tucson and El Paso, The Lordsburg Subdivision has been an integral part of the Sunset Route since its rails were first spiked down in 1880.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we covered the west half of the subdivision through Arizona between Tucson and Steins. In Part 2, we continue east to El Paso as trains race across desert of southwestern New Mexico and into the Rio Grande Valley.
At Lordsburg, Arizona Eastern’s Clifton Branch provides access to the impressive Morenci Copper Mine. We will visit this fascinating operation complete with its own railroad: the Freeport-McMoRan Industrial. Watch a quintet of non-turbocharged GP38-2’s and dash 3’s battle a five percent ruling grade out of Clifton, Arizona.
Back on the UP main line, heavy stack trains over three miles long sprint across the desert, passing old lava flows and ghost towns. We will visit UP’s busy Santa Teresa Intermodal Facility which first opened in 2014. It is an important hub linking Los Angeles with Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, and Mexico. Finally, we will cross the Rio Grande River into the west Texas town of El Paso.
This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. 7ideaproductions.com/collections/frontpage/products/union-pacifics-lordsburg-subdivision-part-2
![Union Pacifics Lordsburg Sub Part 1 [Tucson, AZ to Steins, NM]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DK4cJwXvw6E/mqdefault.jpg "Union Pacifics Lordsburg Sub Part 1 [Tucson, AZ to Steins, NM]
Today’s Union Pacific trains roll through the desert country of the American Southwest on a three hundred mile journey between Tucson and El Paso. As part of the legendary Southern Pacific’s Sunset Route through Arizona and New Mexico, it is known as the Lordsburg Subdivision. This double-track main line connects ports in southern California with eastern destinations like New Orleans, Chicago, and Houston, as well as, south of the border into Mexico.
In part 1 of this two-part series, we will cover the western half of the subdivision between Tucson and Steins near the New Mexico state line. Trains crest four different summits including Mescal, Dragoon, Railroad Pass, and Steins Pass west of Lordsburg.
Monster stack trains over three miles in length are common on the Lordsburg Sub. There are plenty of mixed manifest and unit grain trains to keep things interesting. This is also the route of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited which makes a tri-weekly run over the line.
In addition to main-line traffic, we will visit the San Pedro Valley Railroad at Benson and the Arizona Eastern which serves the large Morenci Copper Mine near Clifton.
This program was shot in April 2024
Available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/collections/frontpage/products/union-pacifics-lordsburg-subdivision-part-1
0:00 Intro
2:30 Map
5:28 Tucson
11:47 Vail
26:17 Cienega Creek
39:56 Pantano
51:42 Mescal
1:05:07 Benson
1:11:35 Fenner
1:14:11 Sibyl
1:17:30 Dragoon
1:22:25 Apache
1:29:07 Cochise
1:29:50 Wilcox
1:40:28 Raso
1:41:41 Bowie
1:51:20 Karro
1:52:52 Steins")
![Arizona Copper Mine Railroad [Freeport McMoRan Industrial]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DdZAEgyspEY/mqdefault.jpg "Arizona Copper Mine Railroad [Freeport McMoRan Industrial]
A unique collection of diesel locomotives power trains over a 5% grade in Arizonas Morenci Copper Mine. The Freeport McMoRan Industrial serves the copper mine and interchanges with the Arizona Eastern out of Lordsburg, New Mexico.
This program is part of our series on Union Pacifics Lordsburg Subdivision which is also available on Youtube, DVD and Blu-ray. Visit 7ideaproductions.com. https://www.7ideaproductions.com/collections/frontpage/products/union-pacifics-lordsburg-subdivision-part-2")
