The Arizona Eastern Railway (reporting mark AZER) is a Class III railroad that operates 206 miles (332 km) of railroad between Clifton, Arizona, and Miami, Arizona. This includes trackage rights over the Union Pacific Railroad between Lordsburg, New Mexico, and Bowie, Arizona. The railroad serves the copper mining region of southeastern Arizona, and the agricultural Gila River Valley. The railroad offers a transload location for lumber, building materials and other consumer commodities at Globe, Arizona. As of 2023, AZER has a maximum capacity of 286,000, and has one interchange: Union Pacific (Lordsburg, New Mexico).
What is now the Arizona Eastern Railway was chartered as the Gila Valley, Globe & Northern (GVGN) on January 5, 1885. Before completion to Globe in 1899, the GVGN came under the control of the Arizona Eastern Railroad (AE). The Arizona Eastern was leased by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1905 and merged into the SP system in 1924. SP sold the Bowie – Miami line to Kyle Railroad in 1988. Kyle was purchased by shortline holding company StatesRail in 1995, which was eventually purchased by RailAmerica in 2001. RailAmerica sold the railroad to Permian Basin Railways, a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings, in December, 2004.
Of historical note, the Gila Valley Globe & Northern Railroad's first locomotive, apparently GVGN #1, was purchased from the Central Pacific Railroad, originally #1195 (Jupiter). The locomotive was the Central Pacific locomotive that met with Union Pacific No. 199 at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, for the driving of the golden spike, commemorating the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Despite its historical significance, in 1909 the GVGN, by then controlled by Central Pacific successor Southern Pacific, sold No. 1 for $1000 as scrap.
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n 2006, Arizona Eastern announced the construction of a new 10-mile (16 km) spur from Safford to the new Safford Mine of Freeport-McMoRan Corporation, north of Safford. The mine opened in 2008.
In 2008, AZER purchased the Clifton Subdivision from Union Pacific. The Clifton subdivision serves the Morenci Mine near Clifton, Arizona, and interchanges with UP at Lordsburg, New Mexico.
In December 2008, weekend excursion service under the name Copper Spike began operating from Globe to the Apache Gold Hotel Casino near San Carlos. Trains operated four daily round-trips through the winter and spring, on Thursdays through Sundays. The Copper Spike excursion train did not resume operation for a 2011–2012 season due to the transfer in ownership.
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On 2 August 2011, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced that it planned to purchase the Arizona Eastern from Iowa Pacific for US$90.1 million, with the deal expected to be completed by the end of the year. The deal was closed on 1 September 2011.
