889, allowing Marcus Daly's Anaconda Copper Company to ship its copper ores to either the Anaconda smelter, or to the Black Eagle smelter near Great Falls. (Anaconda, by Isaac Marcosson, page 53)
The Great Northern line from Great Falls to Butte was abandoned and removed in 1972, following the March 1970 merger of Great Northern and Northern Pacific. After the merger, BN no longer needed access to Butte via the former GN line because of NP's line into Butte from the east by way of Homestake Pass, and the Montana Union (owned by UP and leased to NP) west from Butte to Garrison.
Butte, Anaconda & Pacific (1894- [current])
In 1894, Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway began operations between the Butte mines and the smelters at Anaconda. Butte, Anaconda & Pacific was controlled by the Anaconda Copper Company, its majority shipper. Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway was organized in September 1892, and began operations on January 1, 1894. (Anaconda, by Isaac Marcosson, page 53)
The BA&P was electrified in May 1913, with electric operations continuing until 1967 when diesel locomotives took over from the unique boxcab electric locomotives. (For an excellent history of BA&P, see "Wired For Success" by Charles V. Mutschler, Washington State University, 2002)
In January 1977, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) purchased the all interests of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, including its Butte, Anaconda & Pacific railroad subsidiary. The purchase required the approval of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission because Anaconda owned two railroads, the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific in Montana, and the Tooele Valley Railway in Utah. During February 1980, Anaconda was shipping about 50,000 tons of ore daily from its Butte mines to the smelter at Anaconda.
On September 29, 1980, Anaconda Copper Mining Co. announced that it would close its smelter at Anaconda, and its refinery at Great Falls, both in Montana. The closure would put 1,000 people at Anaconda and 500 people at Great Falls out of work. (Eugene Register, September 29, 1980; Deseret News, September 30, 1980)
December 3, 1980
Anaconda announced that they would ship copper ore from their Butte mine to Japan to take advantage of excess smelter capacity in other nations. (Spokesman-Review [Spokane, Wash.], December 4, 1980)
Anaconda closed its Butte mining operations at the Berkley Pit. By early January 1983, Anaconda still employed 700 people at its East Berkley Pit mine, and its ore concentrator and general offices. (The Day [New London, Conn.], January 9, 1983, Associated Press news item)
January 6, 1983
Anaconda announced that they would close the Butte copper mine, effective June 30, 1983. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, January 8, 1983, Associated Press news item)
In response to decision on February 6, 1985 by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission that ARCO and its BA&P subsidiary were liable for employee benefits for furloughed railroad employees following its shutdown of BA&P operations, ARCO donated and sold the entire railroad to the State of Montana.
The track and land of the Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railroad was donated by ARCO and its Anaconda Minerals Co. subsidiary to the State of Montana. (Spokane Chronicle, April 11, 1985)
May 1, 1985
A group of three former BA&P management employees (Dave Bisch, John Greene, and William McCarthy) organized the Rarus Railway and leased the former BA&P from the State of Montana for operation. Rarus purchased the buildings, eight locomotives, and other rolling stock and equipment. The lease from the State of Montana for the track and land was for a period of five years, with an option for purchase at the end of the lease. There were 25 miles of mainline track, and a total of 115 miles of track that included all switching yards and sidings. Included in the arrangement was the $180,000 sale by Anaconda to the state, of the BA&P switching facilities at Silver Bow, Montana. (Spokane Chronicle, April 11, 1985, summary of a telephone interview with McCarthy)
The BA&P switching facilities at Silver Bow were adjacent to industrial development prope