Our next stop was at Glorieta.
The Santa Fe Glorieta station is now a US Post Office. We returned to Interstate 25 and took it south to New Mexico Highway 14 which we took south to the town of Madrid.
Santa Fe 2-8-0 769 is part of the Mine Shaft Theater in Madrid. It was built by Richmond Locomotive Works in 1900 as Santa Fe Pacific Railroad 266. The locomotive was sold to the Albuquerque & Los Cerrillos Coal Company in 1950. This and two other engines worked at the coal mine in Madrid located at the end of a branch extending south from the Santa Fe main at Waldo, New Mexico. 769 was never re-numbered or re-lettered. The mine closed in 1959 as a result of declining coal markets, and Madrid became something of a ghost town. 769 and 870 were abandoned on site and left to rust. For some reason, 769 was parked just outside the old single stall enginehouse, which might otherwise have given it some protection from the elements during the years it has sat neglected in Madrid. During the 1970s, Madrid revived as an artist community and tourist attraction, and 769 was sold to Joe Huber, cosmetically restored and incorporated into the Old Coal Mine Museum, still standing on the spot where it was abandoned.
The front of the engine is inside the Mine Shaft Theater.
The Mine Shaft Theater.
A rotary car dumper.
Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company tank car 96226.
The entrance to the Mine Shaft Theater.
A mine car outside. We departed Madrid and took New Mexico 14 south to New Mexico 344 south.
Bad weather was brewing as we traveled south. We reached Interstate 40 and headed east to Moriarty where we turned south and headed into the worst thunderstorm of the trip so far. We made it to just west of Willard where we turned onto US 60 and came out of it as we were following a westbound BNSF train. We managed to get ahead of it and picked a grade crossing to the south and set up and waited.
BNSF 8471 West at the County Road B028 grade crossing.
The view east towards the thunderstorm.
BNSF 8128 East at the County Road B028 grade crossing. From here we drove west on US 60 to Mountainair.
The Santa Fe Mountainair station built in 1908. We continued west on US 60 and came upon another train.
BNSF 8213 East along US 60 west of Mountainair. We then drove to the US 60 bridge over the BNSF mainline just east of Abo Canyon and set up, hoping for a train.
It did not take too long to start hearing an eastbound train working up the grade through Abo Canyon.
BNSF 5421 East came out of Abo Canyon and headed east. We headed west on US 60 to Belen and the next stop of this trip.
The Santa Fe Railroad Belen Harvey House built in 1909, now a museum.
BNSF trains being refueled for their trips west.
The Santa Fe Belen station, also built in 1909. We left here and one block over we found our last stop of today.
Santa Fe Gas-Electric motor car 190 built by American Car and Foundry in 1910, on display in Belen. We then returned to Interstate 25 north taking it nine miles to Los Lunes where we turned onto New Mexico 9 but stopped at KFC to pick up some dinner to go. We took that road to Interstate 40 to Grants where we checked in to the Travelodge for the night.
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