{"id":62,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:05","latitude":46.0225420000000013942553778178989887237548828125,"longitude":-112.7798679999999649226083420217037200927734375,"title":"Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway Historic District","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/ea9d29a3d9418f426b37e8a026c095e4.jpg","address":"Right-of-way begins in Butte and travels to Anaconda, generally along the course of Silver Bow creek, Butte and Anaconda, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":10,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"Tired of exorbitant freight rates, copper king Marcus Daly decided to build his own railroad in 1892 to haul ore from the Butte mines to his Anaconda smelter. Daly envisioned the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway extending to the Pacific Ocean. Instead the railroad ran twenty-six miles between Anaconda and Butte. With construction expertise from the Great Northern Railway, the railroad was built with seventy-five-pound steel rails in anticipation of heavy freight traffic. By 1900, the BA&amp;P was said to carry “more tonnage to the mile the year around than any other railroad in the country.” This earned it the moniker “The Biggest Little Railroad in the Nation.” Most of the freight was copper ore from the Butte mines with a destination of the Anaconda smelter. Finished copper from the smelter was then transported across the nation. In 1913, the BA&amp;P converted from steam to electric-powered engines, becoming the first electrified railroad in the country to haul heavy freight. Two factors allowed the BA&amp;P to electrify affordably: access to inexpensive hydroelectric power and the fact that the Anaconda Company supplied the necessary copper wire from its own mines. The BA&amp;P’s early success in electrification became a model for other railroads, most notably the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. The modern age of electricity fueled demand for copper from 1892 through the 1920s. Notably, the BA&amp;P transported more than half of the nation’s supply during this era.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private | Public","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/2dcd1ccd-4fba-43d2-a55b-13072b687399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more about the Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railway Historic District</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/53ee3abd-89f1-4575-b4f4-93c251dd7f1b/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See photos of the Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific Railway Historic District</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/ea9d29a3d9418f426b37e8a026c095e4.jpg":{"id":227,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Scene in Butte, Montana, 1909.","description":"North Central Butte.<br />\r\nButte Anaconda and Pacific ore train line in center.<br />\r\nCatalog #946-052<br />\r\nJanuary, 1909. | Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, Montana | January, 1909 | John L. Maloney","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/ea9d29a3d9418f426b37e8a026c095e4.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/b46e5010bc03dad26067c1bcb8f24608.jpg":{"id":228,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Train, BAP (Butte, Anaconda and Pacific)","description":"Train, BAP (Butte, Anaconda and Pacific), <br />\r\nPAc 82-62.2116<br />\r\nMay 6, 1913  | Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, Montana | May 6, 1913 | Photograph from the Anaconda Copper Mining Company Unidentified Photographer","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/b46e5010bc03dad26067c1bcb8f24608.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/8bf42a2f8af6a9da048742d036c65fdc.jpg":{"id":229,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Dignitaries with Depot in background","description":"W. A. Clark, hands in pocket in center of photograph.<br />\r\nOn Clark&#039;s left (to the right in the front row) is Butte Mayor Patrick Mullins.<br />\r\nFreight Depot, Butte Anaconda &amp; Pacific Railway building in background.<br />\r\nCatalog #PAc 98-57.16 | Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, Montana | [no date] | Unidentified photographer","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/8bf42a2f8af6a9da048742d036c65fdc.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/2e848bacf3b600c6db4166d8938b3d0b.jpg":{"id":230,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Butte, Montana.  Dublin Gulch with old Anaconda Road to Mines,Hill","description":"&quot;Butte, Montana.  Dublin Gulch with old Anaconda Road to Mines,Hill - East Steward Mine and Big Butte left.&quot;  Gift of Allan G. Hooper, Butte, Montana.<br />\r\n#PAc 98-57.55 | Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, Montana | [no date] | Unidentified photographer","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/2e848bacf3b600c6db4166d8938b3d0b.jpg"}}}