Dec. 18 news from RAILWAY AGE Magazine: _________________________________________________ Arizona Eastern set to acquire UP's Clifton sub Arizona Eastern Railway, Inc., a Class III short line, expects to complete acquisition of Union Pacific's 67.7-mile Clifton Subdivision on or after Feb. 1, the Surface Transportation Board said in a decision handed down today. Interested parties have until Jan. 25 to file petitions to stay STB's approval of Arizona Eastern's application to acquire and operate the line that links in Clifton, Ariz., with UP's Sunset Route at Lordsburg, N.M. According to the State of Arizona 2007 Railroad Inventory and Assessment prepared by R.L. Banks & Associates, the line is one of Arizona's first, built in 1884 and connected with the state's first narrow-gauge line, the Coronado Railroad. It has a maximum gradient of 2.06%, numerous horizontal curves, and six tunnels. UP provides service one or two times a week, primarily hauling copper cathodes to smelters. Business in 2005 added up to 0.32 million gross ton.
