BNSF Freight Traffic on Old Santa Fe Transcon

[rjemery]

Recent news articles state that BNSF makes light use for freight of the former Santa Fe Transcon between Newton, KS, and Belen/Dalies, NM.  Apparently, not all segments are traversed.

Anyone know how many freights per week there are and which communities are still served?

[carnej1]

I would think you might get more responses to your question if you posted it on "General discussion" forum rather than here on the Passenger forum...

[rjemery]

CarneJ1,

Good point.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[VerMontanan]

BNSF runs numerous trains daily between Newton and La Junta.  Frequency varies.  For through traffic between the two points, there is one regular freight train daily each way.  There are also locals based in Newton, Dodge City, and Garden City.  There is a lot of grain activity around Hutchinson, and there is also grain loaded at places like Wright, Dodge City, Garden City, and Coolidge as well as grain loads and empties to and from the Cimarron Valley Railroad at Dodge City.  Holcomb, outside Garden City, receives unit coal trains, as does Lamar on occasion.  Between Las Animas Jct. and La Junta, there is heavy eastward loaded coal traffic en route from the Powder River Basin and Denver, turning south at Las Animas Jct. toward Amarillo.

 

Between La Junta and Lamy nothing, except a very rare trip to/from Simpson, CO for the Pinon Canyon military reserve.  As I understand, freight traffic to the Santa Fe Southern Railroad at Lamy has dried up, and there's sparse freight business between Lamy and Albuquerque, but there is the New Mexico RailRunner commuter trains that operate most of the way in this segment.

 

[mudchicken]

Statement of original post should point out ATSF Transcon/ Northern Route (original route)....Southern Transcon via Belen Cut-off happened 3+ decades later and was surveyed to death before actually built. (IIRC - Abo was an SP surveyor who died on one of those surveys)

Trinidad- La Junta is used a little more often than just for military moves to Simpson/Pinon Canyon Military Manuever site (I was there when it was built, RIP Jon Sorenson)....it figures into the current of traffic schemes BNSF uses to run between Pueblo and Amarillo bypassing the Crooked & Slow. Every different operating regime treats it differently.

[VerMontanan]

mudchicken

Trinidad- La Junta is used a little more often than just for military moves to Simpson/Pinon Canyon Military Manuever site (I was there when it was built, RIP Jon Sorenson)....it figures into the current of traffic schemes BNSF uses to run between Pueblo and Amarillo bypassing the Crooked & Slow. Every different operating regime treats it differently.

Not the case.  Southbound trains operate from Pueblo to La Junta through Boise City to Amarillo.

Northbound trians operate Amariillo to Pueblo via Dalhart, Clayton, Trinidad.

To incorporate the Trinidad-La Junta segment into any of this would require an awkward (and long) backup move at Trinidad.