The USRA

[nachoman]

Interesting theory on the Santa Fe. I know that the Santa Fe main line across northern Arizona did not cross a single perennial stream or river (a river that flows 365 days a year). Yep, the entire width of the state and not a single water crossing Sure, there were streams and gullies that flowed for part of the year, and the railroad did take advantage of some of those. In Williams Arizona, there is a small snowmelt-filled lake called "Santa Fe lake" that was built for locomotive water. Plenty of other small lakes and dams in the region were also built by the railroad for the same purpose. The railroad also drilled wells along the main line every 20 miles or so, but around Flagstaff a well needs to be several thousand feet deep to reach water. I can definitely see the argument for early dieselization of that line. There is still no water on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Both the Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon railway hauled water to the South Rim in order to water locomotives. Now, there is a pipeline to bring water from the North rim of the canyon, down to the bottom of the canyon, and up to the south rim. But the pipeline only supplies enough water for the hotels and campgrounds.