United Verde & Pacific map overlay

One of the abandoned NG grades that we have to explorer here in AZ is the United Verde and Pacific. This line starts north of Prescott in Chino Valley at a location known as Jerome Junction. At this Junction it met up with the SG Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix. Construction of the line started in 1894 to provide a cheaper method of transporting copper from the mine in Jerome. The line was about 26 miles long with the eastern terminus at the mine in Jerome. Much of the grade can be driven today with a nice mile-by-mile write up in Russell Wahmann's "Verde Valley Railroads". I have driven the route a few times and usually start on the west end and arrive in Jerome in time for dinner at The Haunted Hamburger.

One of the things that I have often wondered is how the grade looked at the Jerome end where the more recent mining activity has destroyed most traces. The last thing that you can really see on public land is the wye north of the mine with one tail heading beyond a locked gate. My recent trip to Washington provided an opportunity to acquire the maps for this line. Using these I have put together an overlay that shows the grade beyond what can be driven on forest road 318. It would be fun to explore the short stretch south of the wye that winds around and enters the mine site from the west side. That would probably be the most undisturbed section of the old grade.



This next overlay is an enlargement of the mine site. As you can see there has been lots of activity here since the abandonment of the line. There most likely wouldn't be any traces left past where the grade turns east into the mine site.

Time to start thinking about another trip up along the UV&P



Dave