Around 1935-1940 Santa Fe was building a cutoff between Boice City Oklahoma and Colmar New Mexico. I beleive the track got as far as Farley then the project was dropped. Does anyone know why the project was dropped and the status of the section that was built? It appears that this cutoff would have a better gradient and be shorter that either Ratan pass of the Clovis line.
Colmor (not Colmar) Cut-Off was an extension of a branch line from Dodge City to Felt, Oklahoma, west of Boise City. In 1930 Santa Fe received ICC authority to construct from Felt to Colmor, 110 miles, and upgrade the branch to main line status to make it a cut-off for Raton. It would thus bypass Raton, but not Glorieta Pass and all the tedious curvature and profile between Blanchard and Glorieta, and would speed up passenger service. I don’t believe it was ever intended for through freight; that would remain the province of the Belen Cut-off because it has very low grades.
Construction reached Farley in 1931 and was suspended at that point due to the Depression. Air travel’s rapid technological and commercial progress rendered the project moot by the time it could have been resumed, and in 1942 the extension from Boise City to Farley was abandoned and the rail reused elsewhere due to the steel shortage during the early years of World War II. Service was once a week by that point west of Boise City.
You can drive most of the grade from Farley to Mount Dora; a county road sits on most of it. It has all the hallmarks of first-class work – gentle grades, broad curves, good drainage structures. A short line still operates the cut-off from Dodge City to Boise City. I’ve never seen any evidence of grading between Farley and Colmor, and no evidence of a wye or anything like that at Colmor. There is almost zero population out there.
Boise City is pronounced “boyce,” for what it’s worth, not “Boy-see” like in Idaho.
OS
Thanks OS for the update on the ColmOr cutoff. I spelled Colmor as Colmar for two reasons: First, I was looking at the map in a 1936 Santa Fe timetable and the print was quite small. Second, and the most important reason, my wife’s grandmother’s maiden name was ColmAr.
Cheers,
Those old maps are hard to read! My eyes aren’t what they used to be. And sometimes they changed the spelling, too.
Glad to be of help.
OS
Answered in detail on another post, besides economics there was the issue of no bearing for test pilings driven between Colmor and Farley. Boise City to Felt survived until 1962. (some of the timber bridges are still there, the remainder is now US56/64/412)… The track through Boise City on the Denver- Amarillo Coal route from MP 158.26 to MP 159.70 is on the 1913 allignment for the Boise City Cutoff (DC&CV Ry.)
Located on Santa Fe’s Colorado Division, aka the CV District, we called the place “Lower East Armpit”
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