ARIZONA EASTERN RAILWAY

 

Anode Car No. 7013

 

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An anode car carries copper anodes from a smelter to a refinery. This car was built as a general service flat car in 1966 and was converted to an anode car in 1986, to carry anodes from the smelter in Miami, Arizona to the refinery in Amarillo, Texas.

The smelting process produces 99% pure copper ingots called "anodes" which are further refined at another facility using an electrical process. Each anode is approximately three feet square by two inches thick and weighs 700 pounds. Each car can hold 200 anodes. Because they are so heavy, they are only loaded in two rows of 50 at each end, to concentrate the weight over the wheels.

The Arizona Eastern Railway, which serves the mining industry in the Globe-Miami and Clifton areas, donated this car to the museum in 2009.

This car was built as a wood deck flat car in June 1966 by General Steel Corporation of Granite City, Illinois, possibly for the Rock Island Railroad. It is called a "Commonwealth" car because the plant was formerly owned by Commonwealth Steel. It is 53 feet 6 inches long and has a deck area of 535 square feet. It is unique in that the frame largely consists of a one-piece steel casting. It was originally used in general freight service.

The Southern Pacific Railroad subsequently obtained it and numbered it as part of its 700,0xx series of flat cars. Forty-five cars made up this series, but it is not known which one became the AZER 7013. The SP class designation is F-70-92G, with the "70" indicating it has a 70-ton carrying capacity. In April 1986, it was apparently reconfigured into an anode flat car by Gunderson Industries, who added the short bulkheads at each end to support the heavy anodes. The anodes take up about one-third of the floor space at each end, leaving one third empty in the middle.

The Southern Pacific Railroad had been operating a branch from Bowie to Miami since 1924, serving the mines around Globe and Miami. In 1986 it sold the branch, including this car, to the Arizona Eastern Railway. The Arizona Eastern donated the car to the museum, and it arrived on April 16, 2009.
2013/2014 - Photo of the car after the 2013/2014 restoration.
2013/2014 - Photo of the car after the 2013/2014 restoration.
2013/2014 - Detail photo of the 2013/2014 restoration.
2013/2014 - Photo of the car after 2013/2014 restoration.  Volunteer Joe Maffei takes a minute to pose.
4/2009 - Photo of car just delivered to ARM in April 2009.
4/2009 - Photo of car just delivered to ARM in April 2009.
4/2009 - Photo of car just delivered to ARM in April 2009.
3/2009 - View of the car as delivered to Armstrong Park.

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