Jemez Mountains Railroads, Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico

The story of the railroads which penetrated the vast expanse of the rugged Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico is both a history of the land and a saga of men with great ambitions. The land, long inhabited the Jemez Indians, was conquered by Spanish invaders, only to be taken over a few centuries later and exploited again by American businessmen. With them came the railroads that were so necessary to support the industrial practices of the time in lumbering. mining, and general land development.

Both of the railroads chronicled in these pages were built during the boom years of the 1920s and, in the flamboyant style of the times, they were expected to prosper beyond any rational bounds. Both lines cost, in fact, far more to build than even their most optimistic traffic projections ever could have justified; and they operated in the shadow of constant financial difficulties.

The two lines were far longer, and thus more expensive to run, than comparable railroads operated by similar enterprises in New Mexico. In addition both industries served by the railroads -- coal and lumber -- were extremely competitive. Supplies were plentiful, prices fluctuated wildly, and customers changed suppliers frequently over small fluctuations in price, quality, or delivery schedules.

Neither railroad was able to achieve efficient operations or attain a steady income. Whenever traffic volume reached high levels, something always happened to cause a shutdown. Over the years costs remained high, markets weakened, and one after another the companies failed, even after reorganizations and infusions of new capital. By 1941 both railroads had become obsolete, and were abandoned.

Nevertheless, the early promoter of the railroads. Sidney Weil, has been confirmed as a man of vision. From the vantage point of fifty years, we can easily see that much of what he envisioned and advocated did indeed come to pass. But it only happened many years after his railroads were gone.

Figure 1. Sidney Weil in August. 1956. Photo from the collection of T. P. Gallagher. Jr.