Wind Turbine Yard

 

Plainview, Texas

Kress Texas Critter

"Critter" is a term for a small locomotive used for switching at industrial facilities. This one is a Shuttlewagon Commander SWX420 and can move up to 20 loaded rail cars at a time. 

A couple more from the Lubbock & Western Railway

 

Lubbock & Western 3538

Plainview, Texas

Belen Doodlebug

Abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad Station

 

Ancho, New Mexico

Through Truss Bridge on the Union Pacific Tucumcari Line

 

You don't see bridges like this much anymore. This one is near Three Rivers, New Mexico

Rock Island Trestle, Endee, New Mexico

 

Between San Jon and Endee

Chaos Strikes Global Shipping

(NYTimes) Off the coast of Los Angeles, more than two dozen container ships filled with exercise bikes, electronics and other highly sought imports have been idling for as long as two weeks. In Kansas City, farmers are struggling to ship soybeans to buyers in Asia. In China, furniture destined for North America piles up on factory floors. Continued

Clovis Train Station to Become Restaurant

(Eastern New Mexico News) What's now enveloped in dust and times past may soon be a local staple where eastern New Mexico residents will be immersed in New Mexico history while getting a taste of local culture - literally. 

Brothers Jordan and Tate Nichols of Farwell said they wanted to bring something unique to Clovis. And unique it would be, with residents enjoying fine dining from local farmers and ranchers as they watch trains go by.  

The brothers, who bought Clovis' historic train depot on U.S. 60/84 in 2016, began construction in March to turn the historic treasure into a restaurant. Continued

Unfathomable pinheadery: Railroad history erased in Melrose

Anything interesting to see in Melrose? Not anymore.

(Eastern New Mexico News) One of Melrose's longest-standing buildings is no more. The Melrose train depot was demolished on Wednesday. The building, constructed in 1907, was owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, which informed the village last year of its intent to clear the structure. "It was a year or two ago that they let us know they would be doing that, and we discussed it in several council meetings," Village Clerk Khira Whitehead said. "They told the village that they could buy the building for $1, but it had to be moved ... to a different location."   Continued

Railroad Signal, 1936

Coreen Spellman

Little Caboose on the Caprock

You never know just what you'll find clinging to the side of a cliff, 
this particular cliff being the northern escarpment of the Llano Estacado. 
Retired Atchison Topeka and Sant Fe Caboose,
Number 999501, sits waiting for a train that'll never come. But what a view!
As you can see, the owners converted it into a little cabin.

Mainstreet near completing Tucumcari Railroad Museum takeover process

Tucumcari Railroad Museum, circa 2012.

(Quay County Sun) Virtually all the paperwork has been signed. All that remains for Tucumcari MainStreet to take over operations of the Tucumcari Railroad Museum is an act by the New Mexico Secretary of State's office. The last remaining deed is to dissolve the nonprofit organization that ran the museum at the city's historic depot. Connie Loveland, executive director of Tucumcari MainStreet, said the Secretary of State could do that as soon as this week. Continued

Cimarron Valley Railroad 4052

Hugoton, Kansas

The Santa Fe and Lamy Railroad

(Albuquerque Journal) The rumors have been swirling around the railroad depot in Lamy since the turn of the year. On Friday, it became official: Novelist and screenwriter George R.R. Martin, Violet Crown Cinema owner Bill Banowsky and arts philanthropist Catherine Oppenheimer now own the Santa Fe Southern Railway Inc. The trio, who met through their various interests in the Santa Fe Railyard, are aiming to restore excursion trips on the 18-mile spur between Santa Fe and Lamy by 2022. Continued

Rock Island Rolling Stock

Liberal, Kansas

Clovis train enthusiasts break out models at mall

 

(ENMNews) Whirring across a miniature track through molded terrain and plastic towns, model train displays are a holiday tradition. They also give hobbyists a chance to show off their collections.
For the past 24 years, members of the Clovis Area Train Society have been sharing their passion for pint-sized locomotives. Continued

Country Railroading

 

My girlfriend called across the tracks, "Did it stop?" "No, just slow." Having spent the last 15 years or so chasing trains around the speedy Northeast Corridor and Southern Transcon, I could understand her confusion. But this was Hugoton, Kansas and the trains on the Cimarron Valley Railroad take their good old time.
We had passed the train on the road, a little ways back, and pulled up to the next grade crossing. I lit a cigarette, finished it, rechecked my camera settings, rechecked the sun, tried a few more angles, made sure the cigarette was out, stared at a horse, and finally, the train.

Railroad Station: Friona, Texas

The station has been moved from the tracks to the park.

Railroad Station: Liberal, Kansas

(travelks.com) The Rock Island Depot was restored in 1998 and is home to the Liberal Chamber of Commerce. The restored Grier Eating House and Cimarron Hotel house the VA Medical Clinic. The first depot, connected to the Grier Eating House and Cimarron Hotel, was a handsome wooden plank construction. It was destroyed by fire in 1910. The replacement depot, which still stands, was made of stucco plaster. The Chamber building has a collection of railroad memorabilia, which can be viewed during business hours Monday through Friday. Link

"Samson of the Cimarron"

 

People were so proud of this bridge they named it Samson. It's part of a long line of railroad bridges the Rock Island built to span the Cimarron River, just north of Liberal, Kansas. All the previous bridges were washed away. This one, built in 1939, stuck. It's on the Tucumcari Line, now owned by the Union Pacific.

Pantex ‘White Train’ on display at Amarillo Railroad Museum to be restored

 

(KFDA) Pantex is remembering a train used during the Cold War to transport military warheads across the country.

For 30 years beginning in the 1950′s, the Department of Energy considered the White Train the safest transit for military cargo out of the Pantex Plant.

The White Train cars were sandwiched between escort coaches for armed guards.

It moved at only 35 miles per hour and seven-person crews spent weeks on guard traveling across the country. Continued

The Dawson Branch

A tribute to "The Polly," in Mosquero, New Mexico.
The Polly was a passenger car hitched to the end of coal drags on the Dawson Line.
It was a slow way to get to Tucumcari, but people had an odd affection for the old car.

(Sixgun Siding) The Dawson Line (or Dawson Branch or Roy Branch), was a Southern Pacific Railroad line that went from Tucumcari, New Mexico to the coal mining town of Dawson, New Mexico. The line was built by the El Paso & Northeastern Railroad System which later became The El Paso & Southwestern Railroad, before being absorbed by the Southern Pacific.
Traffic, being mostly coal trains, was slow-going, and train crews were known to pack their rifles and fishing rods with them for diversion at sidings. As slow as it was, it gave Dawsonites the opportunity to travel anywhere a train went in the United States.
The town of Dawson, its mines, and railroad were abandoned in the early 1950's.

The Rock Island Rail Trail

The Choctaw Rocket was a luxury train that once travelled
between Memphis, Tennessee and Tucumcari, New Mexico. 

Once upon a time, the Rock Island Railroad used to travel between Tucumcari and Amarillo. It shut down in the early 80’s, but the Right-of-Way (ROW) is still there.
If you look at Google Maps, in satellite mode, you can see where it parts from the existing Union Pacific tracks, just northeast of Tucumcari (northeast of the lake), not far from Route 54.
The right of way seems almost entirely intact from there to the tunnel under I-40, a distance of about 3 miles. The Tucumcari area could use some more hiking trails and the old ROW looks like just the spot.
There are several advantages to rail trails. For one, they combine history with outdoor recreation. Railroad lines are graded to be as flat as possible, meaning a large portion of the population can walk the trail with ease. They are already partially constructed. Trails, by law, can revert to railroad use, if need be. Rail trails have proved to be enormously popular throughout the country, not only providing recreation, but economic stimulus to local businesses.
For more information, check out the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Highlights of the trail could include the Tucumcari Wildlife Management Area
and this tunnel.