Rail Runner
Last week we took the train to Albuquerque. No one in Santa Fe ever goes there except to drive to the airport; I've asked Santa Feans about visiting or shopping in Albuquerque and all I get are puzzled looks and variations of "but why?"
Nevertheless we took the Rail Runner Express down and back. Mostly just to take a train ride.
I love watching the train pull into the station on Saturday mornings during Farmer's Market at the rail yard -- it's so European. It glides right past the vendor stalls, and the sight of people milling around, the smells of roasting chiles, and the big colorful train arriving with shoppers and tourists makes the scene seem so festive.
They are building a Rail Runner station at the end of Walking Rain Road, just under a mile away from our house. It's over the crest from us and near the new hospital that just opened, so we won't see or hear it from our house, but someday we might walk to the rail station to ride the train.
The route runs from Santa Fe through Albuquerque and down to Belen, mostly following the highway, so there are few new sights to see on the ride, it's pretty much what we see driving.
But I wanted to have the experience of boarding the train at the old Santa Fe Depot, sitting back and having a ride. It took an hour and a half and it cost $6 for a round trip all day pass; Jim rides free as a veteran.
I just wanted to see the old stops and depots along the way, and scope out how feasible it would be to get to the airport or to Albuquerque's Old Town -- free buses connect to those places from the train station and I wanted to see how doable it would be to take the train to the airport or downtown.
And of course there was the mystique of taking the old Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe. The famous old train route never actually went to Santa Fe, though.
When they built the line in the 1800s, engineers determined the geography was too difficult to run the line all the way into Santa Fe. The tracks went instead to Lamy, 18 miles south of the city. They built a spur to Santa Fe, and we have the old Spanish style depot at the terminus of the spur, but basically the main railroad of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe line bypassed Santa Fe.
That's what kept the city from growing. Santa Fe remained a small, undeveloped town, unserved by a major freight line and protected from the boom and bust growth that the railroads brought to western railroad cities. It left Santa Fe's old charm intact, and kept it a small isolated community with its odd customs and culture intact.
We had a great ride down and back. A beautiful sunset was included in our ticket price and we were in the upper car with a good view of it all the way home.
Nevertheless we took the Rail Runner Express down and back. Mostly just to take a train ride.
I love watching the train pull into the station on Saturday mornings during Farmer's Market at the rail yard -- it's so European. It glides right past the vendor stalls, and the sight of people milling around, the smells of roasting chiles, and the big colorful train arriving with shoppers and tourists makes the scene seem so festive.
They are building a Rail Runner station at the end of Walking Rain Road, just under a mile away from our house. It's over the crest from us and near the new hospital that just opened, so we won't see or hear it from our house, but someday we might walk to the rail station to ride the train.
The route runs from Santa Fe through Albuquerque and down to Belen, mostly following the highway, so there are few new sights to see on the ride, it's pretty much what we see driving.
But I wanted to have the experience of boarding the train at the old Santa Fe Depot, sitting back and having a ride. It took an hour and a half and it cost $6 for a round trip all day pass; Jim rides free as a veteran.
I just wanted to see the old stops and depots along the way, and scope out how feasible it would be to get to the airport or to Albuquerque's Old Town -- free buses connect to those places from the train station and I wanted to see how doable it would be to take the train to the airport or downtown.
And of course there was the mystique of taking the old Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe. The famous old train route never actually went to Santa Fe, though.
When they built the line in the 1800s, engineers determined the geography was too difficult to run the line all the way into Santa Fe. The tracks went instead to Lamy, 18 miles south of the city. They built a spur to Santa Fe, and we have the old Spanish style depot at the terminus of the spur, but basically the main railroad of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe line bypassed Santa Fe.
That's what kept the city from growing. Santa Fe remained a small, undeveloped town, unserved by a major freight line and protected from the boom and bust growth that the railroads brought to western railroad cities. It left Santa Fe's old charm intact, and kept it a small isolated community with its odd customs and culture intact.
We had a great ride down and back. A beautiful sunset was included in our ticket price and we were in the upper car with a good view of it all the way home.
Comments
Glad to hear the family is safe in LA. We leave on TUE for SF to visit Brian, and whatever we can of the fractured family. We will stay at the new house up in Sonoma. Thankfully it is not threatened by the Camp Fire as it was last year by the Tubbs Fire. In the midst of all the chaos and loss that these tragedies produce, it seems foolish to worry about a little smoke and ash, but we will bring masks as schools are closed in SF due to “extremely unhealthy air quality” as the media delicately states the situation.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
Do come and ride the Rain Runner with us someday! No German food at the destination, but we'll find lots of neomexicana chile delights to feed you.