Canyon Diablo, Arizona - Ghost Towns of Arizona and Surrounding States

Ghost Towns, Canyon Diablo, Arizona

Canyon Diablo
I visited Canyon Diablo on a warm 105 degree day. This is a remote ghost town north of two guns or I-40; 4 miles down a rocky dirt road. A high clearance 2 or 4 wheel drive vehicle is required to get to the location unless you don’t care about your car. Once you arrive you have to climb 2 barbed wire fences and cross the rail road tracks to the location. The buildings are mostly destroyed except the water hole which is 90% complete and 20-30 feet deep. Neat place to visit if you are exploring Two Guns.

History:
Canyon Diablo is a ghost town on the Navajo Reservation in Coconino County, Arizona, United States on the edge of the arroyo Canyon Diablo. The town originated about 1882, due to construction delays attributed to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad ordering the wrong span length railroad bridge across the canyon. The bridge story is that the original bridge when ordered was not of sufficient length to span Canyon Diablo, and this fact was only discovered once the bridge arrived on site from the manufacturer. Consequently for six months the transcontinental railroad ended at the lip of Canyon Diablo while another bridge was manufactured and shipped to the work site.

The original pillars the bridge was mounted on were excavated from the surrounding Kaibab limestone and shaped on site by Italian stonemasons. The ruins of the lodgings of the railroad workmen are on the west end of the bridge site. Despite the railroad ending at the edge of the canyon, work on the railroad route still progressed. Crews were sent ahead to survey the route, prepare the grade and bed, cut and prestage railroad ties and other supplies in advance of the iron rails that would accompany the trains once the canyon was spanned with the arrival of the new bridge. Work quickly progressed until the A&P crew linked up with the Southern Pacific Railroad crews at Needles, CA on August 9, 1883. [more]