Nostalgia & History > RR grade between Raton and Des Moines, Nm. What RR?

Since UP844 is coming on rare mileage through Des Moines, NM on C&S track, I started looking at a topo map. There are several railroad grades that run west of Des Moines and one of them heads west and a short distance north to Raton. What railroad was this? Thanks for your info.

Jim Burrill
Ft. Collins, CO

At one time there was an SP branch from Tucumcari into the area to serve a mine - not sure if that's what you're seeing.

Dave

Thanks guys. Further investigation reveals two different railroad grades into Des Moines and what appears to be two different wyes near town so you're probably both correct!

I belive at one time ATSF planned to bypass Raton Pass with a line from Dodge City. The segment from Dodge City to Felt, OK and Des Moines to Raton was built, but for some reason the missing middle was never completed.

The grade for a RR that was never built runs approximately parallel to the StLRM&P ROW as well.

qman



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/12 15:35 by qman.

atsffan Wrote:
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> St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pacific Railway. Later
> purchased by the Santa Fe.

Yes,under AT&SF control after about 1913; abandoned after 1935.

Bob

DavidP Wrote:
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> At one time there was an SP branch from Tucumcari
> into the area to serve a mine - not sure if that's
> what you're seeing.
>
> Dave

That's a different line. SP's Dawson branch crossed over the AT&SF at French, NM, well south of Raton.

Bob

millerdc Wrote:
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> I belive at one time ATSF planned to bypass Raton
> Pass with a line from Dodge City. The segment
> from Dodge City to Felt, OK and Des Moines to
> Raton was built, but for some reason the missing
> middle was never completed.

The line you are referring to would have connected at Colmor, NM, well south of Raton.

The Des Moines-Raton branch was an acquisition of an earlier line once hyped as a part of a proposed through route to the east via Texas and Oklahoma.

Bob

qman Wrote:

> The grade for a RR that was never built runs
> approximately parallel to the StLRM&P ROW as
> well.

That unbuilt line was the Santa Fe Raton & Eastern. They had some actual trackage on the ground closer to Raton, but their planned line to Des Moines only got as far as the grading stage. Santa Fe ultimately acquired both the St.LRM&P and the SFR&E. There are lots and lots of abandoned shortline grades east and west of Raton - it's great fun to follow them in aerial photos. Portions of Myrick's New Mexico's Railroads are available online through Google Books - this link should take you to a map on p.158 showing the lines in Northern NM, and text about the St.LRM&P and SFR&E can be found on the following pages, including a map on p.162 illustrating SFR&E's grand but unrealized plans.

http://books.google.com/books?id=T71C_YeFeEoC&lpg=PP1&dq=new%20mexico's%20railroad&pg=PA158#v=onepage&q=new%20mexico's%20railroad&f=false

millerdc wrote:

> I belive at one time ATSF planned to bypass Raton Pass with a line from Dodge City.
> The segment from Dodge City to Felt, OK and Des Moines to Raton was built, but for
> some reason the missing middle was never completed.

Santa Fe built the Colmor Cutoff all the way from Dodge City through Boise City and Felt, OK to the C&S at Clayton, NM, obtained trackage rights to Mt. Dora, then resumed building new track westward. They got as far as Farley, NM before the Depression halted construction - the "missing segment" was between Farley and Colmor, NM. Text about the line in Myrick's book starts on p.25:

http://books.google.com/books?id=T71C_YeFeEoC&lpg=PP1&dq=new%20mexico's%20railroad&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q=new%20mexico's%20railroad&f=false

The St.LRM&P trackage from Des Moines to Raton was already in place when Santa Fe started building the cutoff west from Boise City in the late 20's. Supposedly the old, cheaply-built shortline was unsuitable as the western end of the Colmor Cutoff, which was being built to main line standards. As a result, Santa Fe didn't bother getting trackage rights on the C&S from Clayton to Des Moines, but just from Clayton to Mt. Dora. The Raton-Des Moines line was pulled up in 1935, and the unfinished cutoff trackage west of Boise City was abandoned in 1942.

Better yet get the book Railroads of New Mexico by the late David Myrick. I know it is still available


Its all in there




Jay