Johnson Canyon, a dangerous railroad line abandoned in 1959 in Arizona

The United States owes much of its territorial expansion and also its structure as a country to large railway projects.

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The first railroads in the United States began to be built in the 1820s in the eastern part of the country. For many years, private companies built long railroads across the country, which were nationalized in 1917 and for three years due to the entry of the United States into World War I.

One of the companies that built these railroads was the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, whose purpose was to connect the two ends of the country. This company had many problems building its line in Arizona, specifically in Johnson Canyon, not only because it was a mountainous area, but also because of the presence of basalt.

The problems of this railway line did not end with its opening in 1882. Due to its location, it suffered from rock falls, fires and explosions, and even gunfights, something not too uncommon in the wild west of the USA at that time. It ended up being considered one of the most dangerous railway lines in the USA. Operations on this line were abandoned in 1959 and the rails were dismantled. Today the old line is a mountain route that crosses the Johnson Canyon tunnel, which suffered a spectacular fire. Today Sidetrack Adventures has posted an interesting video following this ancient line:

You can see some samples from the video here. This is the path that the old railway line follows today.

The entrance to the Johnson Canyon tunnel, one of the most difficult sections of this railway. It took a year to build.

The tunnel is very well preserved despite having been abandoned for almost 60 years. The peculiar iron roof was put in place after a fire occurred inside in 1898, which caused a rock fall and killed two men.

The remains of a guardhouse built alongside this track during World War II. To protect this route, a cannon emplacement was created outside the tunnel, in order to protect it from possible attacks.