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The "Impossible Switchback Railroad" is the story of arguably the most spectacular standard gauge mountain railroad ever built in the United States. The Bradshaw Mountain Railroad was considered an "Engineering Marvel" when it was completed in 1904 by Frank Murphy. Murphy was Arizona Territory's leading industrialist who had been getting filthy rich over the last 20 years investing in mines and building railroads to central Arizona's most prosperous mining districts. Yet there still was a mining district that had eluded him! It was high in the 6000-foot Bradshaw Mountains protected by a place called Crazy Basin. It was thought to be impossible to build because of the prohibitive cost and the challenging mountain elevations. Locals gave it the nickname "Bradshaw Boondoggle" and "Impossible Railroad".
Murphy was not to be deterred! He wanted a railway to where the gold, silver and copper was! He challenged his engineering teams to find a way to the summit at Crown King! Chief Engineer William Drake had a plan to conquer the mountain! Switchbacks! The result was one of the most unique mountain railroads ever built! The Bradshaw Mountain Railroad was an engineering and construction wonder when completed. The railway used 10 switchbacks, 31 wooden trestle bridges, a 142-foot tunnel and relentless track grades of up to 3.9% to climb 2,400 feet to the mountain summit. The "Impossible Switchback Railroad" relives the mining and railroading boom and bust of the late 1800s and early 1900s through vivid period visuals, personal narratives and intimate stories of the railroaders who built and operated this stunning railway. The Book contains 169 pages with 138 color or colorized photographs, 69 B&W photos, 35 maps, 15 technical illustrations and 26 reproductions of Santa Fe Railway company documents.
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An American Pioneer Story

Newark 1666

The Tichenors were one of thirty families that moved from New Haven Colony to found the city of Newark, NJ.

Fort Smith 1823

Sarah Ann Titchenal was the first white child born in Fort Smith, Arkansas Territory. Read about her Monument at the Fort Smith National Historic Site.

Santa Anna 1869

William Titchenal purchased the first lot of the new town of Santa Anna California for 15 dollars in 1869.

Railroading the American West

C.E. Titchenal was a Santa Fe Station Master for 30 years in the early twenty century. Read his story in "Along the Santa Fe".

Go West Young Man

The Rivers Run West

From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in 225 years

"The little domicile 'neath' the old sycamore in our today's sketch of old Santa Ana was the result of a deal between W. H.. Titchenal and W. H.. Spurgeon in 1869, the latter selling the former one lot at $15.00 and giving him another one on condition that he would build a house thereon. Thus the nucleus for a town was started. Santa Ana it was called. Other buildings followed fast." The above quotation and sketch of the little house appeared in the Santa Ana Daily Herald January 2, 1902. The paper published sketches of the city of Santa Ana as it looked in 1877, eight years after the town began in 1869. William H. Titchenal, my great grandfather, was the first man to purchase property and build a home in Santa Ana, California. This deal was the first tangible beginning of Santa Ana, California. That day back in 1869 not only marked the beginning of a city, it also ended more than 200 years of westward movement of the Titchenal family.

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