Event Calendar
Comet Talk: Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad
Join us for a presentation about one of America's most unique and least known railroads! Take a trip on the Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad that ran 73 miles from the Black Mesa Mine to the Navajo Generating Station at Page, AZ. Then we'll hear about the Peabody Coal Slurry Pipeline that ran 273 miles from the Black Mesa coal mine to the Mohave Generating Station at Laughlin, NV.
The pipeline ran from 1969 to 2005 and became one of the most contentious issues faced by the Navajo and Hopi tribes as it did severe damage to the aquifer the peoples of these tribes rely upon for potable water.
The BM&LP railroad ran from 1973 to 2019 and was far more environmentally sensitive than the pipeline. However, the Navajo Generating Station faced considerable environmental issues and its demise also spelled the end of the railroad as the plant was its sole reason for existence. Three trains ran daily on power generated by the station with 100 cars each to feed the demands of its voracious master. We will look at the operation and the culture it created that no longer exists.
This class will be in Flagstaff at CCC or available via Zoom.
About Al Richmond:
Al Richmond retired from Air Force Pararescue as a Chief Master Sergeant in 1981 after twenty-seven years of service. Al then served as Colorado Plateau Projects Liaison to the national parks and monuments in his twenty-year second career with Northern Arizona University. Richmond is the founder and chairman & CEO of the Arizona State Railroad Museum Foundation and Center for Education and Arizona Railroad Heritage Park in Williams, Arizona. A nationally recognized historian and author with emphasis on railroads and the Colorado Plateau, he has served as historian for the Grand Canyon Railway since its rebirth in 1987. He is the author of three books: Cowboys, Miners, Presidents and Kings: The Story of the Grand Canyon Railway; Rails to the Rim: Milepost Guide to the Grand Canyon Railway; and The Grand Canyon Railway: Sixty Years in Color with co-author Marc Pearsall.
Register Here
The pipeline ran from 1969 to 2005 and became one of the most contentious issues faced by the Navajo and Hopi tribes as it did severe damage to the aquifer the peoples of these tribes rely upon for potable water.
The BM&LP railroad ran from 1973 to 2019 and was far more environmentally sensitive than the pipeline. However, the Navajo Generating Station faced considerable environmental issues and its demise also spelled the end of the railroad as the plant was its sole reason for existence. Three trains ran daily on power generated by the station with 100 cars each to feed the demands of its voracious master. We will look at the operation and the culture it created that no longer exists.
This class will be in Flagstaff at CCC or available via Zoom.
About Al Richmond:
Al Richmond retired from Air Force Pararescue as a Chief Master Sergeant in 1981 after twenty-seven years of service. Al then served as Colorado Plateau Projects Liaison to the national parks and monuments in his twenty-year second career with Northern Arizona University. Richmond is the founder and chairman & CEO of the Arizona State Railroad Museum Foundation and Center for Education and Arizona Railroad Heritage Park in Williams, Arizona. A nationally recognized historian and author with emphasis on railroads and the Colorado Plateau, he has served as historian for the Grand Canyon Railway since its rebirth in 1987. He is the author of three books: Cowboys, Miners, Presidents and Kings: The Story of the Grand Canyon Railway; Rails to the Rim: Milepost Guide to the Grand Canyon Railway; and The Grand Canyon Railway: Sixty Years in Color with co-author Marc Pearsall.
Register Here
Location Fourth Street Campus - Flagstaff
3000 N. Fourth St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
3000 N. Fourth St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Date:
Monday, January 30, 2023, 06:00pm - 07:00pm