Five EMD GP38/38-2s of Freeport McMoRan howl in Run 8 as they climb the incredibly steep railroad connecting Clifton with Morenci, Arizona, as it curves through a cut approaching Corral Road grade crossing on October 28, 2020. The lead trio of blue, white and red GP38-2s are still in the colors of previous owner of the copper mine and railroad, Phelps-Dodge.

Tags:   Freeport McMoRan FMI EMD GP38-2 locomotive former Phelps-Dodge Morenci Corral Road corral cut curve 55 train railroad Clifton Arizona AZ Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold industrial railroad

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On October 22, 2020, Freeport McMoRan’s first hill turn of the day rattles the rafters of the church along Riverside Drive as it climbs the steep grade out of Clifton, Arizona. This train will later stall on the climb to Morenci.

Tags:   Freeport McMoRan FMI EMD GP38 locomotive former Phelps-Dodge Clifton church 51 train railroad Arizona AZ Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold industrial railroad Riverside Drive

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Freeport McMoRan No. 59 leads a third train up the hill from Clifton, Arizona, after quickly picking up the last remaining interchange tonnage from Arizona Eastern Railway on October 22, 2020. FMI No. 59 is a GP38-2, that appears to have been rebuilt from a former Rio Grande GP40 bought from Union Pacific (I’m still trying to find more info to verify this).

Tags:   Freeport McMoRan FMI EMD GP38-2 locomotive rocks cliffs 59 train railroad Clifton Arizona AZ Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold industrial railroad

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On the morning of October 22, 2020, a Freeport McMoRan train passes through a cut and heads downgrade just past the Corral Road grade crossing between Morenci and Clifton, Arizona. The first cut of cars on the train are gons loaded with copper concentrate headed for refining at FMI’s smelter at Miami, near Globe. The cars will be interchanged to Arizona Eastern Railway at their compact yard in Clifton at the bottom of the steep hill.

Tags:   Freeport McMoRan FMI EMD GP38 locomotive tailings cut 53 train railroad Morenci Clifton Arizona AZ Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold industrial railroad Corral Road grade crossing

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It’s rainy and cold in the high desert of Arizona as the third run of the day of Freeport McMoRan brings 34 cars down the ramp below Corral Road grade crossing between Morenci and Clifton on October 27, 2020. Snow dusts the higher mountain tops in this view from the old abandoned grade of narrow gauge Shannon Arizona Railroad, later upgraded and standard-gauged, and used by Phelps-Dodge as the rail link between Morenci and Clifton until 1965. This grade is now a hiking trail.

Tags:   Freeport McMoRan FMI EMD GP38 locomotive 49 train railroad Morenci Clifton Arizona AZ Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold industrial railroad

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