Central AZ Railroad, Township 19 N, Range 8 W

This area is bounded by Upper Lake Mary and Lake Mary Road to the east, Forest Road 132 to the west, Elk Park Meadow to the north and Forest Road 132B to the south. Babbitt Spring Canyon is to the northeast. This area was logged by the Flagstaff Lumber Company in the 1920s. Forest Service maps show railroad lines throughout the area.

I first began mapping these lines in 2012. The rough road that enters the area from Elk Park Meadows had kept me from returning. I headed back in around the beginning of November but used the the 132B road that enters the area from near Hoxworth Springs. The entire Hoxworth Springs area has recently been logged and it appears that the country from there down to Newman Canyon is slated for cutting. While the area is extremely dense in places and needs to be treated, I realize that the railroad lines need to be mapped soon since the logging operations will likely obliterate some sections of line.

In addition to checking out the railroad grades, I'd been wanting to try and locate the remains of a couple of Forest Service Ranger Stations and the Newman Ranch site that are shown on historic maps. It is difficult to tell exactly where the Ranger Stations were located as the maps just narrow them down to a quarter section. I decided to try and locate the Clarke Valley Ranger Station but it turned out to be in an area that was just treated. There was still a good bit of activity in the area the day I went to look for it so I decided against even trying. I had better luck on locating the Banty Ranger Station. There is a chance that the foundations and fence lines I found aren't part of the Ranger Station but I'm pretty certain they are. I hope to get confirmation about this soon.

I'm not sure what this structure was used for. It is roughly four feet deep and has a ramp at one end. I'm guessing that it may have been used to dip sheep or cattle. 

I believe these are the remains of buildings at the Newman Ranch site.