Yuma Valley Railway

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Yuma Valley Railway
Reporting marks YVRY
Locale Yuma, Arizona
Dates of operation 1914 (predecessor) – Present
Track gauge ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Yuma, Arizona

The Yuma Valley Railway (AAR reporting marks YVRY) is an Arizona heritage railway that operates passenger train excursions along the Colorado River levee between Yuma and Gadsden.

As of 2005, the line has been embargoed by the Bureau of Reclamation (see below), and the excursion train is not currently operating.

Motive Power and Rolling Stock

Route

History

The YVRY was originally owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. It was part of the Interior Department's irrigation and flood control project along the levee of the Colorado River.

The U.S. Government's railroad was known as the Yuma Valley Railroad and operated from 1914 and into the 1980's. The Yuma Valley Railroad originally extended 25 miles from Yuma to the Arizona/Mexico border town of San Luis. In 1947 the Yuma Valley Railroad was leased to and operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad, at which time the 9 miles from Gadsden to San Luis were idle and later abandoned.

References

  • Robertson, Donald B. (1986). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: The Desert States: Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, 114. ISBN 0-87004-305-6. 
  • (2006) Tea Benduhn: Tourist Trains 2006, Empire State Railway Museum's 41st Annual Guide, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing, 15. ISSN 1546-2730. 
  • Walker, Mike (1995). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Arizona & New Mexico. Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing, 16. ISBN 1-874745-04-8.