Magma, AZ. The village of Magma, AZ, referred to as Magma Jct. on UP Timetables and Schedules was founded in an unknown year in the 19th Century/1800s Century and is a major junction on the former Southern Pacific now Union Pacific Phoenix Mainline. It was where the SP Phoenix Mainline and the SP Hayden Branchline intersected with the Magma Arizona Railroad, which interchanged cattle and copper traffic.
​
In 1955, SP abandoned the Hayden Branchline and later sold it to the Kennecott Copper Mine Railroad, now known as the Copper Basin Railway, which still operates to this day. The Magma Arizona Railroad was abandoned in 1997.
​
Until 2020, UP's Magma Turn would carry interchange traffic for the Copper Basin Railroad. Since Precision Scheduled Railroading or PSR was greenlit, the Magma Turn was cancelled and the Phoenix-Tucson and Tucson-Phoenix freights did their work for them.
Copper Basin GP40-2 304, GP39 504, and GP39-2 403 arrive at Magma to pick up their consist.
403 departs Magma bound for Hayden.
The conductor and his student conductor inspect the coupling between 304 and the lead car.
Another going away shot of the interchange local.
CBRY GP39s 504, 402, and 505 shove back to couple their train together before returning to Hayden.