Apache Railway
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| Reporting mark | APA |
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| Locale | Holbrook-Snowflake, Arizona |
| Dates of operation | 1917– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Snowflake, Arizona |
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The Apache Railway (reporting mark APA) is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the BNSF Railway (BNSF) at Holbrook to the Snowflake Mill near Snowflake, Arizona, 38 miles (61 km). The APA was acquired by Catalyst Paper from Abitibi Consolidated in 2008. The Snowflake paper mill shut down permanently on September 30, 2012. In late 2015, the railway was purchased out of bankruptcy by a group including Aztec Land & Cattle Company and Midwest Poultry Producers, L.P., thereby avoiding a shutdown and scrappage of the line. The railway continues to operate, and its revenues are driven primarily by car repair and storage. The railway's freight revenues have not yet recovered from the shutdown of the Snowflake paper mill then owned by Catalyst, although efforts to enhance them continue.
16,000 cars per year (1996 figure)
The Apache Railway was incorporated in 1917, when it began construction of a rail line from Holbrook south, reaching Snowflake in 1918. It was extended south to McNary in 1920.
From October 1, 1931, until 1936, amid the Great Depression, the APA was placed in receivership.
A tourist railroad, the White Mountain Scenic Railroad, operated steam powered passenger excursions over the Southwest Forest Industries-owned line from McNary to the logging camp of Maverick, AZ, beginning in 1964. As track conditions deteriorated, the excursions were cut back in later years to a point about half way to Maverick. In the final years, it operated north from Pinetop Lakes to a place called Bell Siding on U.S. Route 60. In 1976, the White Mountain Scenic Railroad ceased operations and moved its equipment to Heber City, Utah to be used on an excursion there known as the "Heber Creeper." The line from Maverick to McNary, with some elevations exceeding 9,000 ft (2,700 m), was removed in 1982 after the McNary sawmill closed.
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