Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad

Eastbound train on the Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad, May 19, 2007. Note the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (N de M) livery on the locomotives

During our drive around the US in 2018, we came upon an electric-powered train in northwest Arizona that was hauling coal westbound.  I found it strange that there was this railroad out in the middle of nowhere.

Upon arrival that day in Cortez CO, I looked it up online and found that it was The Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad (reporting mark BLKM) an electrified private railroad operating in Northern Arizona by the Navajo Nation which transported coal 78 miles (126 km) from the Peabody Energy Kayenta Mine near Kayenta, Arizona to the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) power plant at Page, Arizona. It was completely isolated from the national rail network and did not connect to any other railroad. As a result, like metros, light rails, and trams, it was not controlled by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The line was constructed in the early 1970s and was the first railroad to be electrified at 50,000 volts. It was owned by the Salt River Project and the co-owners of the Navajo Generating Station.

The line was electrified by means of 50,000 V, 60 Hz, overhead catenary with electricity supplied by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.  During normal operations, the railroad operated three round trips per day.

I was reading an article about the decline of the coal industry and learned that the Black Mesa and Lake Powell's final delivery to the NGS was August 26, 2019.  The power plant was shut down in December 2109 due to competition from cheaper energy sources.

The electrical components of the railway are currently being dismantled.

Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad