The Other Cimarron

by Bob Hyman

Cimarron Depot, ca. 1908

(Click on image for enlargement.)

Before I begin, a little disclaimer:

This is NOT about Cimarron, Colorado

Introduction

Here's some information about a little-known area with a  great potential for modeling.  It's more-or-less appropriate for TOC era to Depression era modelers.  I have found evidence of both standard and narrow gauge lines in the area, as well as numerous traces of 12" to 18" gauge mine tracks.  Whether your interest lies in mountain, mining, or timber lines -- this area has something for everyone.

Precious metals, coal, cattle and sheep, lumber, fruit and vegetables ... it all traveled by rail.  With second-hand motive power, gasoline-powered rail cars, steep grades, numerous bridges and trestles, tight curves, and absentee management (sounds a little like the RGS, doesn't it?), this area had a little bit of everything as it went from boom to bust.   For something a little different, try building a model or two from this area.  Pick your favorite scale (of course, I'm partial to Sn3!).

A Little Background

Cimarron is located in historic Colfax County, New Mexico on the eastern edge of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains about halfway between Raton and Taos.  The local area still brims with historical remnants.  This was Kit Carson territory, home to the Santa Fe Trail, and was once part of the immense two million acre Beaubien and Miranda (later Maxwell) Land Grant.

Evidence from the glorious past appears everywhere.  In crumbling adobe ruins or once-magnificent Victorian mansions a cavalry soldier, mountain man, rancher-capitalist, or railroad baron may once have laid plans for developing this area.  Ghost towns like Colfax, Elizabethtown and Baldy Town are reminders of the booming railroad, mining and lumbering days long past.  Abandoned gold mines with names like the Aztec, the Mystic, the French Henry, the Montezuma, the Swansea, and the Red Bandana still scar the mountains.  Ore from the Aztec assayed at $19,000 per ton;  the mine produced 120 ounces of gold in just its first six days of operation.  This area was home to notable historical figures.  Men like H.M. Porter, Frank and Charles Springer, and Lucien Maxwell made millions from their coal, gold, timber and ranching operations.

The Coming of the Railroads

Despite the prosperity which typified the region at the dawn of the twentieth century, inadequate transportation facilities threatened to curtail development.  Thousands of fattened head of cattle had no way to reach the eastern markets.  Fruit growers could not easily ship their apples, pears and cherries to consumers.  Rich coal deposits and vast stands of timber lay undisturbed.  It was the hard rock miners who suffered the most; they needed rail lines to ship their ores and concentrates and to import heavy mining and milling machinery.  Without economical transportation, the citizens of Colfax County feared their area would sink into that class of broken, worthless communities which already cluttered the west.  

Numerous railroads had announced plans to penetrate the heart of the county connecting with the Santa Fe somewhere south of Raton Pass.  As early as 1872 the North and South Railroad Company said it would connect Cimarron with Kit Carson, Colorado and El Paso, Texas.  The Arkansas Valley and Cimarron would run up the Arkansas Valley, while the Colorado and Southern would run south through Ponil Park.  Even more promising was the Cimarron River and Taos Valley Railroad which would run from the Santa Fe mainline to Elizabethtown.

Incorporated in September, 1902, the New Mexico and Pacific Railroad was chartered to build from Raton to Elizabethtown.  Construction didn’t begin until 1905.  By then, ownership had shifted to a group of Missouri investors and the name of the line was changed to St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Railroad Company.  The planned 105-mile line would connect Raton with the C&S at Des Moines and with Cimarron to the south.  Soon the new line was hauling passengers and freight with its 536 cars and seven locomotives.  All were emblazoned with the red swastika symbol adopted as the road’s trademark. There was even a town north of Cimarron named Swastika.  The swastika was a common native-American symbol, used by the local tribes on their pottery.

First Train Into Cimarron - December 10, 1906

(Click on image for enlargement.)

Despite their elaborate plans, railroad officials soon realized that there was not sufficient passenger traffic between Cimarron and Ute Park to justify the regular scheduling of a passenger train.  Passenger service dropped from daily to tri-weekly.  By June, 1907, the railroad began using a 12-passenger gasoline driven motor car to service the western end of the line.  To stimulate business west of Cimarron, the railroad developed a resort in scenic Ute Park, where local Indians had once camped and miners still prospected.  The resort, famed as one of the most beautiful in the southern Rockies, opened in the summer of 1908.

In 1915, the railroad was acquired by the Santa Fe system and the name changed to the Rocky Mountain and Santa Fe Railroad.  The railroad kept its separate identity, but all shop maintenance was afterward performed by the Santa Fe at Raton.  The line appears to have been little used after the thirties; rail west of Cimarron was pulled up for scrap during WWII. Swastika Line iron was used to fight a different kind of swastikas in Europe.  With anti-German sentiment high, the town of Swastika changed its name to Brilliant.  The branches into the coal fields north of Cimarron lasted until about 1950.  Today, only graded roadbed and a few rotting ties remain on the right of way.  Decaying coach and boxcar bodies still litter the ghost town of Colfax.

Another local railroad, headquartered in Cimarron, was built in 1907-08.  The Cimarron and Northwestern laid 22 miles of narrow gauge track to Ponil Park to exploit the large stands of timber along the Ponil River.  Owned by the same investors as the Continental Tie and Lumber company, the railroad was built solely to supply timber to the CT&L mills at Cimarron.  The line began with a single locomotive, five box cars, thirty-nine flat cars and a caboose.  The line crossed the Ponil River 51 times as it climbed from Cimarron.

C&N Roadbed in Ponil Canyon - 1964

(Click on image for enlargement.)

As timber supplies were exhausted along the original route, the line was extended 13 miles from Ponil Park southwestward toward Bonito.  By the early 20’s, this area too was lumbered-out and a final extension was laid up the South Ponil River almost to the base of Baldy Mountain.  By June, 1923, all usable timber in the area had been harvested and the line was abandoned.

Photo Album

Today, one can still find relics from the past around Cimarron and throughout Colfax County.  Here are a few more photographs (some recent, some old) that may whet your appetite for modeling this area. Click on images for enlargement.

  Ghost town of Colfax, New Mexico with U.S. Highway 64 and the Santa Fe mainline in the background - July 2001. 

  The Red Bandana Mine in the Elizabethtown Mining District with Baldy Mountain, elev. 12,441 feet in the background. Moreno Valley, Colfax County, New Mexico - 1896.

  Old Coach Body - Colfax, NM - July 2001.

  Logging in the Ponil Canyon - ca. 1910.

  Rotting Remains at Colfax, NM - July 2001.

Explore The Local Area For Yourself

Much of the original roadbed of the local rail lines is still easily discernable, especially northeast of Cimarron.  One must be careful, though, when venturing off the paved roads.  Most of the land in this area is privately owned.  The ghost town of Elizabethtown is still open to public access.  The remains of Colfax are only a few hundred yards north of U.S. Highway 64.

Many of the mining sites including all of Baldy Mountain are on the 137,000 acre Philmont Scout Ranch, owned by the Boy Scouts of America.  Access into the Philmont backcountry (other than county roads) is strictly reserved for the Boy Scouts' backpacking treks.  Some of the lumbering rail line remains are on the quarter million acre ranch of Ted Turner. (yes...that's Jane Fonda's ex and the largest private land-owner in the state!)

Colfax County, New Mexico. Blue Dots Indicate Ghost Towns or Historical Sites.

(Click on image for enlargement.)

To the west of Cimarron, highway 64 continues up through beautiful Cimarron Canyon to Eagle Nest in the Moreno Valley and finally, down into Taos on the western slope of the mountains.  From Cimarron to Ute Park, the highway was built mostly on the STL, RM&P roadbed.  Above Ute Park in the narrow canyon, I could find no trace of the roadbed, other than the remains of a tunnel near the dam at Eagle Nest Lake.

The entire length of Cimarron Canyon is now a state park.  If you drive it, make sure you stop at the Palisades Sill, where the cliffs tower precariously above the highway.  Also, there are several historical sites in and around Cimarron as well as three museums on the Philmont Scout Ranch (just south of Cimarron) that are open to the public.

Helpful Sources

Here are some sources I found useful in exploring this area: