Mascot & Western - Passenger and Freight Car, Willcox, AZ
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 32° 15.094 W 109° 49.906
12S E 610046 N 3568919
Interesting old car, looks almost as if you put the trucks back under it and it can roll away. Owned by the Mascot Mining Co..who Interestingly enough - had the Swastika as their logo (1912).
Waymark Code: WMJ6QN
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 10/03/2013
Views: 3
County of Display: Cochise County
Location of Display: Railroad Ave @ Maley St., across from City Hall
Date Car Built: 1915
Hours Open: Not posted I was there at 7am and walked through.
Web Site about this railroad and this car: Mascot & Western
Combo freight and passenger car, became a home after demise of M&W, later used as tack room • Mascot & Western route was 15 mile run between Willcox and Dos Cabezas AZ, home of Mascot Copper Co./Mascot Mine • company logo was a Swastika, then a good luck symbol in western culture • owner/promoter Thomas "T.N." McCauley, reputed hedonist and swindler later known as "Rogue of the Mascot Mine," regaled investors and guests in building called Hospitality House, now a B&B, Dos Cabezas Spirit and Nature Retreat
McCauley had history of scandals, arrests, disappearances, lawsuits • turned 1st shovel of dirt for the new railroad, 27 Jan, 1915 • last spike, made of copper from mine, driven 15 June, 1915 • about 4,000 guests — including some arriving in this car — showed up for inauguration of railroad, dedication of Mascot townsite and a "monstrous barbecue" • McCauley imported 28 attractive New York secretaries for office work • mine never produced enough ore to recover $MMs invested by stockholders, closed 1930 • town of Mascot failed to develop, Dos Cabezas now a ghost town
"Now one of the problems at this property is a scarcity of water. Only about 20 gallons per minute are available, but the New York stenographers knew nothing about water scarcity. The girls all took a bath and went to the dance. Had a swell time too, they say. But the mine had to shut down until the tanks were replenished. It is understood that there is an opening for an efficiency engineer who can figure out a plan to provide baths for the stenographers and supply enough water to keep the mine going at the same time. The problem is most serious on Saturday night." -Engineering Mining Journal Press via Arizona historical Society, Tucson, Arizona