Navajo Mine Railroad

The Navajo Mine Railroad (reporting mark TNMR) is an electrified private railroad operated by BHP in New Mexico, USA, within the Navajo Nation. It operates 13.8 miles (22.2 km) of track between the Four Corners Generating Station and Navajo Coal Mine[1] (formerly owned by BHP). The railroad does not have any connection to the national rail network.

Navajo Mine Railroad
Navajo Mine Railroad, mining status as of 2016
Overview
Status	Operating
Locale	San Juan County, New Mexico
Termini	South Terminals: coal load outs in the Navajo Mine North Terminal: Four Corners Generating Station
Service
Type	Freight railroad for sub-bituminous coal
Services	push-pull operation between mine and power plant, 12 trains per day
Operator(s)	BHP
Rolling stock	4 x E60 3 x ALCO Century 420 2 x train with 21 coal hoppers
History
Opened	1974
Technical
Line length	13.3 miles (21.4 km)
Track length	17.8 miles (28.6 km)
Number of tracks	1
Character	single track main line two branches
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV 60 Hz (AC) overhead catenary
Route map Wye 0 Four Corner Power Plant 7 mi Hosteen stockpile Barber stockpile 14 mi Lowe stockpile

History

A 7-mile (11 km)-long standard gauge line was built in 1974 from the power plant to the Hosteen stockpile. The line was expanded to the present 14 miles (23 km) in 1983. Since there is no connection to the national railroad network, the 3 diesel locomotives and 22 Maxon bottom dump coal hopper cars were transported from Gallup on low-bed trucks. At the beginning only one train operated. There were problems with clogged oil bath filters on the diesel locomotives due to excessive coal dust, but the issues were solved with a new filter type.

Electric operation started 1984 since it is more economical. Diesel operation became too expensive with increasing train loads and fuel prices. Another 20 hopper cars were purchased so that two trains could run, each having 18 cars.

Electric operations are being dismantled in favor of the new GE ET44AC diesel locomotives with more on the way.

Route

The line runs from the Navajo Mine north-northwest to the Four Corners Generating Station, which is located 25 miles (40 km) west of Farmington, New Mexico. It has no connection to any other railroad.

Operation

Trains are operated with an electric GE E60 locomotive on the north end and a diesel-electric ALCO Century 420 locomotive on the south end. The Century 425 is normally operated only as a control cab to for the radio remote-controlled E60, when the empty train is returning to the mine. The prime mover in the diesel-electric is still present to provide emergency power in event of an electric outage. There is sufficient equipment to create three trains, but only two trains are normally operated, each consisting of 21 coal hoppers. Each train typically makes 12 round trips during each 24 hour operating day.[2][3] Only one crew member is at work at a time: this person takes an empty train to the coal load out, then changes to the loaded train to take it back to the power plant. While this train is underway, the other train is being loaded.[4]

The railroad catenary has a voltage of 25 kV 60 Hz AC. The pantographs of the E60s are mounted on top of pedestals on the roof to adapt their working height to the unusually high catenary height. Extra filters for cleaning the machine room air are mounted on the roof of the locomotive.[3]

At the coal loadouts, front-end loaders deposit the coal into the hopper cars. Each car has a capacity between 100 and 125 short tons (91 and 113 t).[2]

In addition to the mine served by the railroad, the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) owns three other mines in Montana and Wyoming. In 2020, Arizona Public Service (APS) announced plans to close the Four Corners Generating Station. This closure would render both the mine and the railroad obsolete.[5]

Motive Power

• General Electric E60 with the road numbers LOE20, LOE21 and LOE23. These locomotives were built for Amtrak with the road numbers #961, #963 and #968 and were sold directly to the Navajo Mine Railroad, except #961, which was first sold to New Jersey Transit. All these locomotives were scrapped in 2003 and replaced by four E60s first delivered to Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México. These locomotives had previously served the Mexico City—Irapuato line, which was converted to an all-diesel operation.
• ALCO Century 420 with the road numbers LOD7, LOD8 and LOD9. All locomotives are former Norfolk & Western (N&W) engines, which had the road numbers #1000, #1002 and #1005. The locomotives were originally ordered by the Wabash Railroad, before that company's merger with the N&W. They were rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen for operation on the Navajo Mine Railroad.
• Two General Electric ET44AC locomotives were delivered new in 2017 with road numbers 2026 and 2027.[6]

See also

• Mine railway
• Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad – other electric freight railroad on Navajo land, no longer in operation
• Deseret Power Railroad – other electric freight railroad

References

1. Myrick, David F. (1990). New Mexico's Railroads: A Historical Survey. University of New Mexico Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-8263-1185-6.
2. "Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Mine Energy Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Section 2 - Current Operations of Navajo Mine, FCPP, and Transmission Lines" (PDF). March 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
3. "Navajo Mine Railroad". Trainz. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
4. "Navajo Mine Railroad". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
5. Karl Cates and Seth Feaster (31 January 2020). "IEEFA U.S.: Navajo-owned energy company is in trouble". Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020.
6. "New locomotive delivered to Navajo Mine". Farmington Daily Times. Retrieved 2019-07-05.