The Arizona and Utah railroad (A&URR) was chartered in April of 1899 and began operation in July of 1899. It was a standard gauge line the ran from the AT&SFRR at McConnico to Chloride located in the Sacramento Valley just west of Kingman, AZ. The railroad consisted of two locomotives, eight freight cars and one passenger car. One of the two locomotives was known as the "Richmond Tramp" having been built by the Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works.
The line was 21.6 miles long and served as the main method of ore transportation for the many mines located along its route. It also shipped wool from its first siding located at Munds. Its second stop was Union located where the railroad bed crossed what is now Route 68. This site has been totally obliterated by development in the area. The third siding served the Cerbat mining area. The fourth siding served Mineral Park and the mining interests located there including Todd Basin which was a major mining interest in the area. The fifth siding was for Keystone just to the north of Mineral siding.
The end of the line was Chloride although the tracks stopped short of the actual town until 1912 when they were extended into Chloride proper. The original station is still standing today in the small community of Chloride.
According to local lore, the A&URR was locally known as the CB&FRR for "Chloride Back and Forth" railroad. Apparently many children would ride the train to Chloride and back.
The train could not compete with the changes brought by the trucking industry and was abandoned on July 1, 1933. The tracks were then removed.
We have visited the sidings of Cerbat, Mineral Park, and Keystone located just east of Hwy. 93 in the Sacramento Valley area. The siding at Mineral Park does appear to have been a major siding as many small artifacts can still be found here. There is far less located at either the Cerbat or the Keystone sidings. Much of the Mineral Park siding appears to have been burned at one time. This siding is located just north of the road leading up to the Mineral Park area (and local dump) where the old railroad bed crosses the road.
REFERENCES: The History of Mohave County to 1912, by Dan W. Messersmith