Here's a photo I took on September 30, 1990, THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO of a photo run-by of a "Destination Nacozari" excursion operated by Ed and Mary Lee Von Nordeck and tied in with their travel agency business "Let's Travel Tours". Over three days, the trip ventured round-trip from Nogales to Nacozari and the passengers lodged in hotels and motels in Douglas, AZ for two nights. This photo was taken on the third day and I believe was somewhere between Del Rio and Nogales.

Ed and Mary Lee Von Nordeck ran several of these Nacozari excursions and I believe this was the last one. The last few miles into Nacozari presented challenges for the track maintenance crews with rock slides and washouts, and the line was eventually trimmed back to a smelter that was situated about three-quarters of the way down the line.

If Powder River Basin coal is ever exported out of the Port of Guaymas in a big way, I've heard there is a proposal to route it on a re-built line from Benson to Naco in Arizona and then it would be routed over the line you see in this photograph to the southern side of Nogales. This routing would keep the trains out of Tucson and the congested area of Nogales at the international border. Time will tell if this will ever become more than a proposal.