I was in Tucson, AZ for a conference last week, and when I had a free day on Thursday I made a 350-mile side trip to Clifton, AZ to satisfy my curiosity about the 20" gauge Coronado RR/Detroit Copper Co. operations there. It was one of the first railroads in Arizona, in operation as early as 1879.

Here is a photo of me with Coronado RR No. 8, a Porter 0-4-4T (C/N 1735) built in 1897, on display near the former Arizona & New Mexico Ry/El Paso & Southwestern RR/Southern Pacific depot on AZ Highway 191 in Clifton. (The Arizona & New Mexico was originally narrow gauge as well, but 3' gauge rather than 20").



I've been told the engine as we see it today incorporates parts from No. 9 as well as No. 8, but it's not merely a random assemblage of pieces. I was pleasantly surprised to find intact details such as folding engineer's seat in the cab, as well as the whistle lever in the cab roof. To my mind, this implies the open steel cab itself is probably original.





Though the builder's plate is long gone, the engine carries what appears to be a real Porter bell, and the journal box covers on the trailing truck are duly marked "H.K.P. & Co. 1897".





-Philip Marshall



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2019 07:50PM by philip.marshall.