Overview | |
---|---|
Locale | New Mexico |
Dates of operation | 1908–1972 |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 116 mi (187 km) |
The New Mexico Central Railroad was formed in 1908 from the consolidation of the Santa Fe Central Railway and the Albuquerque Eastern Railway Co., to operate the 116 miles of track between Torrance and Santa Fe, New Mexico. [1] [2] That line, reorganized in 1918 as the New Mexico Central Railway, was sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1926. [1] [2] The New Mexico Central remained the nominal owner of the Santa Fe-leased line while the Santa Fe proceeded to abandon operation of the trackage in pieces, ending in 1972 with abandonment from Willard to Calvert (Moriarty), New Mexico. [3]
The original New Mexico Central is not to be confused with the New Mexico Central Railroad (NMCR) which was a newly created company around 2017 with the intent to take over Southwestern Railroad’s lease interest in a line from Rincon to Deming, New Mexico, and to further acquire an ownership interest in lines extending from Deming to Peruhill; from Peruhill to Whitewater; from Whitewater to both the Tyrone industrial Spur at Burro Mountain Jct. and to Santa Rita; and, from Hannover Junction to the Fierro Industrial Spur at the Sharon Steel Plant, all a total of about 116 miles. [4] This proposed railroad company was owned by West Branch Intermediate Holdings, LLC, and was to be managed by Continental Rail LLC. [4] However, the Continental Rail website in 2021 does not mention the NMCR. [5]
The San Pedro Valley Railroad, formerly the San Pedro & Southwestern Railroad, is an Arizona shortline railroad, currently operating from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at Benson, Arizona, seven miles to Curtiss, Arizona west of St. David. The SPSR formerly ran a total of 76.2 miles (122.6 km), with main track from Benson to Paul Spur, a location about 10 miles (16 km) west of Douglas, as well as the Bisbee Branch which ran 5.6 miles (9.0 km) to Bisbee, Arizona. The SPSR is owned by Ironhorse Resources.
The Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway (SFP&P) was a common carrier railroad that later became an operating subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in Arizona. At Ash Fork, Arizona, the SFP&P connected with Santa Fe's operating subsidiary, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad mainline, that ran from California to Chicago. The SFP&P's 195-mile (314 km) line extended the Santa Fe Railway south into Phoenix. The SFP&P extended another 100 miles (160 km) to the east from Phoenix to Florence and Winkelman via the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad. The SFP&P also served several mines in the Prescott area, including the Derby Mine by way of the Summit (flag) Station at 'Prieta' in the Sierra Prieta range, through its various subsidiary railroads.
OmniTRAX, Inc. is a transportation and transportation infrastructure holding company based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It primarily owns or operates railroads, with a network of 25 regional and shortline railroads in 12 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. It is one of the largest privately owned railroad companies in the United States. The firm also invests in, develops, and operates ports, multimodal transportation terminals, and industrial parks.
The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad began in 1888 as the Arizona and South Eastern Railroad, a short line serving copper mines in southern Arizona. Over the next few decades, it grew into a 1200-mile system that stretched from Tucumcari, New Mexico, southward to El Paso, Texas, and westward to Tucson, Arizona, with several branch lines, including one to Nacozari, Mexico. The railroad was bought by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1924 and fully merged into its parent company in 1955. The EP&SW was a major link in the transcontinental route of the Golden State Limited.
Santa Fe Depot is the northern terminus of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail line. The station was originally built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, and until 2014 served as the northern terminus, offices, and gift shop of the Santa Fe Southern Railway, a tourist and freight carrying short line railroad. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico at 410 Guadalupe Street, within an area of urban renewal referred to as the "Railyard". Rail Runner service to the station began on December 17, 2008.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Chili Line, officially known as the Santa Fe Branch, was a 3 ft narrow-gauge branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). It ran 125.6 miles (202.1 km) from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) began construction of the line in 1880 and completed the line from Antonito to Española, New Mexico, but could not build any further because of an agreement with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF). The Texas, Santa Fe and Northern Railroad was incorporated to complete the line, and the line between Española and Santa Fe opened in 1886 and was transferred to the Denver and Rio Grande shortly thereafter. The D&RGW closed the Chili Line in 1941 because of competition from road transportation, and the line was abandoned shortly thereafter.
The El Paso and Northeastern Railway (EP&NE) was a short line railroad that was built around the beginning of the twentieth century to help connect the industrial and commercial center at El Paso, Texas, with physical resources and the United States' national transportation hub in Chicago. Founded by Charles Eddy, the EP&NE was the primary railroad in a system organized under the New Mexico Railway and Coal Company (NMRy&CCo), a holding company which owned several other railroads and also owned mining and industrial properties served by the lines.
The Arizona and California Railroad is a class III short line railroad that was a subdivision of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). The ARZC began operations on May 9, 1991, when David Parkinson of the ParkSierra RailGroup purchased the line from the Santa Fe Railway. ParkSierra Railgroup was purchased in January 2002 by shortline railroad holding company RailAmerica. The Genesee & Wyoming shortline railroad holding company purchased RailAmerica in December 2012. ARZC's main commodities are petroleum gas, steel, and lumber; the railroad hauls around 12,000 carloads per year.
The Southwestern Railroad is a Class III railroad operating since 1990, and until 2017 consisted of two unconnected railroad sections in New Mexico, with no shared functions. These and a third section in the Texas panhandle and Oklahoma, now closed, all operated separately. Since January 2017, only the Whitewater Division is operated by Southwestern.
The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley Line or colloquially as The Colebrookdale, is a tourist railroad located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The railroad operates between Boyertown in Berks County and Pottstown in Montgomery County.
The history of the Southern Pacific ("SP") stretched from 1865 to 1998.
The Albuquerque Eastern Railway, sometimes called the Albuquerque Eastern Railroad, was chartered July 22, 1901, by the same parties interested in the Santa Fe Central Railway which was completed in 1903 between a rail junction at Torrance, New Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The plan was for the Albuquerque Eastern to branch from the Santa Fe Central at Moriarty, New Mexico and run 43 miles west through the Tijeras Pass to Albuquerque. The entire line was graded with a railbed, however, construction was halted in 1905 after only the first 8 miles of track out of Moriarty had been built, due to the Comptroller of the Currency closing the doors of the bank financing the construction.
Originally chartered December 7, 1900, as the Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Pacific Railway Company, this line became the Santa Fe Central Railway in July 1901. Its 116-mile route was completed in 1903 between a rail junction at Torrance, New Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Governor of the New Mexico Territory called it “(o)ne of the most important railway projects for New Mexico in recent years….” The principals behind the line also intended a branch called the Albuquerque Eastern Railway running 43 miles west from Moriarty, New Mexico through the Tijeras Pass to Albuquerque. However, construction on that line was halted in 1905 after only the first 8 miles of track out of Moriarty had been built, due to the Comptroller of the Currency closing the doors of the bank financing these railroad construction projects.
The Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway, known colloquially as the “Ringling Railroad,” ran from Ardmore, Oklahoma to Ringling, Oklahoma, with a branch to Healdton, Oklahoma. It was started in 1913, and was sold to an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) affiliate in 1926.