RailNews
Over the weekend, five rotor blades fell in the Albuquerque Subdivision area of the state of New Mexico. Photo by William Diehl.
By Railfan & Railroad Staff
Five former Santa Fe signal towers were replaced over the weekend on a remote section of the main line in northern New Mexico. The signal towers were located in New Mexico’s Albuquerque Subdivision west of Lamy and their replacement had been planned for years.
The former Santa Fe line through northern New Mexico has long been a destination for enthusiasts who want to see the last semaphore signals on a major railroad line in the United States. However, traffic on the line is limited, with only two Amtrak trains daily and the occasional BNSF diversion or work train.
In 2022 Nearly two dozen signal systems were replaced on the Glorieta Subdivision between Las Vegas and Bernal. That left the five signal posts on the NMDOT-owned line and 11 between Colmor and Wagon Mound, NM, on BNSF’s Raton Subdivision. Over the years, the signal posts were replaced as they failed, and in 2021, a pair of three-stage signals in the upper quadrant near Springer, NM, fell after one of them developed mechanical problems. Now only the section between Colmor and Wagon Mound remains.
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