The was a
Class III Railroad in the
United States State of
Arizona . Originally chartered as the
Gila Valley, Globe And Northern Railway on
January 5 1895 , the Arizona Eastern Railroad name took over during construction. Completed in 1899, it connected
Bowie, Arizona , to
Miami, Arizona , for a distance of 135
Mile s. The
Southern Pacific Railroad took control of it in 1905 and merged it into its system by 1924. It later sold the line to
StatesRail in 1988 which was purchased by
RailAmerica in 2001.
Permian Basin Railways then bought the Arizona Eastern Railway in late 2004.
In 2006, Arizona Eastern announced the construction of a new 10-mile spur from
Safford to a brand new
Phelps Dodge mine north of Safford. The mine and rail spur will open in Spring 2008. Shuttle trains of copper ore will be transported by the AZER to the Phelps Dodge smelter at
Miami-Claypool .
