Albuquerque Eastern Railway

Albuquerque Eastern Railway
Overview
HeadquartersAlbuquerque
LocaleNew Mexico
Dates of operation1901–1908
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length8 mi (13 km)

The Albuquerque Eastern Railway, sometimes called the Albuquerque Eastern Railroad,[1] was chartered July 22, 1901,[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[4] 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.[4][3]

Other routes were surveyed, including a branch running northwest toward the coalfields around Hagan, New Mexico and on to Algodones or San Felipe; but, none were brought to fruition.[4][5] The Albuquerque Eastern was consolidated with the Santa Fe Central in 1908 to form the New Mexico Central Railroad.[4]

  1. ^ Governor, New Mexico (1903). "The Santa Fe Central Railway, Report of the Governor of New Mexico to the Secretary of the Interior, 1903". Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "History of New Mexico: Its Resources and People, Volume II". 1907. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Receivership of the New Mexico Central Railroad Co., Extension of Tenure of Government Control of Railroads, Volume 3". 1919. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Myrick, David F. (1990). New Mexico's Railroads: A Historical Survey. ISBN 9780826311856. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Sherman, James E.; Sherman, Barbara H. (January 1975). Hagan and Coyote. ISBN 9780806111063. Retrieved September 23, 2021.