#thoreaunm

Eastbound at Thoreau

More action on the Atlantic & Pacific Charter, part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. We're now at Throeau, New Mexico, just a few miles east of the Continental Divide.

This is an eastbound stack train moving under the Highway 371 overpass, headed toward Belen. From there it will take the eponymous cutoff for points east.

Somewhere in the West

Continuing my month long series of posts with images made in New Mexico with the Great Divide as my focus or jumping off point. Here's a long-lens view of an eastbound stack train. I'm shooting from the Highway 371 overpass at Thoreau, off I-40, just a few miles east of the Continental Divide.

This rail line is the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway; this segment was created using the Atlantic & Pacific Charter, which allowed the ATSF to get from Isleta, south of Albuquerque to the riches of California via Needles, Arizona.

The stack train seen here is headed toward Belen, New Mexico, from there it will take the eponymous cutoff (rather than climbing over Raton Pass) for points east.

Westbound at Thoreau

More action on the Atlantic & Pacific Charter, part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.

This westbound train showed quick on the heels of the eastbound stack train of my previous post. Again, we're in Thoreau, New Mexico; the train is headed for Gallup and points west.

Somewhere in the West

Continuing my month long series of posts with images made in New Mexico with the Great Divide as my focus or jumping off point. This is the Crosslands Bible Church, approximately five miles up Highway 371 from Thoreau, New Mexico.

Somewhere in the West

Continuing my month long series of posts with images made in New Mexico with the Great Divide as my focus or jumping off point. After visiting Thoreau, New Mexico, I drove north and then to the northeast through a portion of the Navajo Nation.

I spent some time traveling directly upon the Great Divide in this period, going through Borrego Pass, and then along Indian Service Route 483. The general landscape can be seen in the first image.

Just prior to getting to Highway 509, I crossed over the Escalante-Western Railway (ESWR). The sole purpose of this railroad was to transport coal from the El Segundo Mine to a power plant down near I-40. You can read about the line here. I believe another customer, the Lee Ranch Mine, had been serviced by the line as well but had shut down prior to El Segundo—which was decommissioned in a move toward renewable energy a few years ago.