I am an engineer that works for the BNSF in Amarillo, TX. I work north out of Amarillo, on what is called the south coal loop. We take trains north out of Amarillo, to Trinidad, Colorado, then deadhead via taxi to La Junta, Colorado to get our rest. My question is about an old abandoned right of way on the old CS. At a place called Mt Dora, NM there is and old right of way that goes west from the BNSF mainline. I was just wondering if anyone out there has any information on the old abandoned right of way. I have asked all the old head conductors and engineers out of Trinidad, and no one seems to have any idea about the history of this old railroad.
Not C&S (Crooked & Slow)…the line is/was SANTA FE!
Part of Santa Fe’s Colmor Cutoff (1913-1942, to bypass Raton Pass) built by Dodge City & Cimmarron Valley Railway Company (ATSF Subsidiary)…you are looking at the Mt. Dora to Farley end (Farley to Colmor was surveyed, partially graded and never completed. The Belen cutoff was so succesfull, this line was dropped.)
ATSF had trackage rights on C&S from Mt. Dora to Clayton
ATSF then ran from Clayton to Boise City, OK to Dodge City (Clayton to Boise City now gone, you can see the old fill coming into Clayton from the south and east still to this day - sometimes looks like a big sand dune in the summer)
Dodge City to Boise City is now the Cimmarron Valley RR (Boise City to Felt to Clayton is long gone)
When you are taking your coal loads from LJ to Amarillo, you go through a huge lefthand 4 degree curve between MP 123 and MP 124 at Boise City - That was the east leg of the west Boise City Wye. The mainline, switches and west leg of the wye are now gone. The east Boise City Wye is the thing that goes under US 54 and US 385/287 on the east side of town and now is the interchange with CVRR.
Boise City Terminal was downsized 1926-32 to almost what you see today. If you look out in the weeds to the SE, you can still see what was to be a 26 stall roundhouse and a yard that was supposed to be bigger than Pueblo and La Junta yards combined.
Find yourself a copy of Myrick’s “New Mexico Railroads” and read on.
From TrainNut4-8-4’s website (who worked with DiningCar):
http://www.atsfry.com/EasternArchive/Junction/images/mtdora.jpg
http://www.atsfry.com/EasternArchive/Junction/images/clayton.jpg
Hey Sam Do C&S engineers go to Amarillo? I just got in the Denver Class and have been perusing the TT and wondering if we go that far out of Denver.
C&S enigneers and conductors do get to go to Amarillo, but you have to work out of Trinidad. The south loop pool miles are regulated like this. Amarillo to Texline and Amarillo to Boise City are Amarillo miles. Texline to Trindad are Trinidad miles and La Junta to Boise City are La Junta miles.
[quote user=“mudchicken”]
Not C&S (Crooked & Slow)…the line is/was SANTA FE!
Part of Santa Fe’s Colmor Cutoff (1913-1942, to bypass Raton Pass) built by Dodge City & Cimmarron Valley Railway Company (ATSF Subsidiary)…you are looking at the Mt. Dora to Farley end (Farley to Colmor was surveyed, partially graded and never completed. The Belen cutoff was so succesfull, this line was dropped.)
ATSF had trackage rights on C&S from Mt. Dora to Clayton
ATSF then ran from Clayton to Boise City, OK to Dodge City (Clayton to Boise City now gone, you can see the old fill coming into Clayton from the south and east still to this day - sometimes looks like a big sand dune in the summer)
Dodge City to Boise City is now the Cimmarron Valley RR (Boise City to Felt to Clayton is long gone)
When you are taking your coal loads from LJ to Amarillo, you go through a huge lefthand 4 degree curve between MP 123 and MP 124 at Boise City - That was the east leg of the west Boise City Wye. The mainline, switches and west leg of the wye are now gone. The east Boise City Wye is the thing that goes under US 54 and US 385/287 on the east side of town and now is the interchange with CVRR.
Boise City Terminal was downsized 1926-32 to almost what you see today. If you look out in the weeds to the SE, you can still see what was to be a 26 stall roundhouse and a yard that was supposed to be bigger than Pueblo and La Junta yards combined.
Find yourself a copy of Myrick’s “New Mexico Railroads” and read on.
From TrainNut4-8-4’s website (who worked with DiningCar):
http://www.atsfry.com/EasternArchive/Junction/images/mtdora.jpg
http://www.atsfry.com/EasternArchive/Junction/images/clayton.jpg
Sam:
(1) Keep a lookout for the old bridge that was near the west switch at the West wye in Boise City. (Its there out in the weeds, I think the handrails have come off it by now)
(2) Castaneda used to be called Ramsey and it was to be the crossing of the Rock Island coming across from Hugoton, KS… (CRIP finally gave up on building it)
(3) figured out where Ramp and Gilpin are yet between Las Animas Junction and Boise City?
(4) give Roadmaster Fred Campos all the help you can with that new 136# steel on the ground north of Boise City…
(5) Keep an eye out for the remains of the SFRM&E (Swastika Route) up by Des Moines
What are they doing with the big steel Cimmaron River Bridge above Castaneda?
MC, good info, but the RI projection to Castenada through Hugoton is something I have never heard about. Please provide me more info, by private email if you wish.
JK
DC: Liberal to Hugoton to Richfield to a point between Campo & Richfield, parallel to the current Boise City Sub crossing at Castaneda , then through the upper Cimmaron River Valley along the CO/NM border and into Trinidad. GLO filing maps dated 1903-1921 still show on the BLM master title (MT) plats and we had, at La Junta, the first two 20-mile filing maps in our tube (TB4-) files that Rod Young salvaged from somewhere [my intro to GLO Filing maps]… Before the DEO-LJ was closed in 1988 and moved to Newton/AQ, we were asked to check a bunch of old contracts , including a contract for the Crossing at Hugoton (south side of town, complete with Exhibit “A” diazo print) that also had a MOU letter in it referring to the crossing at Ramsey which at that time had been filed for, but not yet built by ATSF.
There are references in a couple places of the Rock Island corporate history to the “Cimmaron Extension” with the idea being finally killed -off during the last great growth spurt in the McFarland-McInnes?/ (I’m spacing who led the CRIP moderization in the 1930’s after Reid-Moore)era on CRIP. They had ideas about going west of Trinidad up the Purgatoire (coal) and somehow into the San Luis Valley (real murky on how that was to happen)
This was an extension of the forks spreading out from Liberal (Liberal-Amarillo and Liberal - Tucumcari were built (Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf/ Amarillo & Canadian River RR) …why Morse Jcn to Etter/ATSF to Wilco was built must have a story)
I finally drove the Colmar Cut-off a few years ago from Farley to Des Moines. A county road either lies on the grade or next to it for the most part. We did it in a blizzard, don’t ask me why; it seemed like just the thing to do that day. One of the more memorable experiences of my life Almost no one lives out there.
RWM
Tell me about ramp and gilpin. All I know about gilpin is it is a radio tower the dispatcher uses to answer the radio. Also tell me about this railroad around Des Moines. I don’t think I have ever seen it.
About the only thing out there that survived were the the old public buildings (schools, post offices, etc.) which are now private ranch houses. Mostly big old adobe & concrete block structures.
Do you have any drawings or maps of the railroad that you mentioned at Des Monies, NM, the SFRM&E (Swastika Route)? Whats the story behind that railroad?
The Cimarron River bridge is being rebuilt along with nearly ever other bridge for the 260 some miles on the Boise City sub. The wooden supports along the south end of the bridge were replace replaced last year with cement supports. This year the wooden supports are being replaced at the north end. While working is being done on this bridge there are no slow orders in our gtb’s. That can’t be said with any of the other bridges that are being replaced and waiting to be replaced. I thought that maintance away where putting in 172lb rail? Needless to say maintance is something that I don’t really know a lot about.
MC, I have the 1st employees TT for the line from Boise City to Las Animas Jct and it shows the station (siding) Castenada. Was Ramsey a proposed RI station or just a construction site?
Jack