Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad

The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad was a railroad which connected its two namesake towns: Maricopa and Phoenix, Arizona. It was the first railway in Phoenix, providing a connection to the national rail network.

Authorized by an act in 1883,^[1] the railway was built with the intent of providing a direct connection from Phoenix to the new Southern Pacific Sunset Route.^[2] Planners initially intended to route the line around the west of the South Mountains, though support from Tempe and Mesa compelled a route to the east through those towns.^[3] The Maricopa and Phoenix's inaugural trip was on July 4, 1887.^[4] The line frequently experienced issues with flooding would sometimes strand passengers at either endpoint for up to a week. The company would go on to be absorbed into the Arizona Eastern Railway in 1910, and then finally becoming part of Southern Pacific itself in 1924.^[5] The company would go on to build the Phoenix Subdivision to provide a more reliable route to the city, and the Maricopa Branch would lose significance as a line. Passenger service ended in 1933, and the southern section of the line was abandoned in 1935.^[6] A segment of the line exists as the Union Pacific Tempe Industrial Lead.^{[citation needed]}