Why did the AT&SF bypass Santa Fe?

[MARC Rider]

As anyone who rides the Southwest Chief knows, the train, despite running on a railroad that has "Santa Fe" in its name, doesn't actually run through Santa Fe, but rather stops in Lamy, about 20 miles from Santa Fe. The usual accounts abput why this is so state that the AT&SF civil engineers thought that the topography was to rugged to allow the railroad the be built through Santa Fe, and instead, routed their main line through Lamy and on to Albuquerque. After a recent trip to the area, I'd like to know the real reason.

I rode the shuttle van from Lamy to Santa Fe. the drive goes up a side road to US 285, which then intersects I-25, which roughly follows the route of the old Santa Fe Trail. There appears to be no major topographic barriers to the highway. It is true that a little to the east of the US 285/I25 junction, there's a small escarpment that I 25 climbs over, but it doesn't look like anything that couldn't be dealt with using 1880's civil engineering technology. Heck, the AT&SF had just built their line over the Raton and Glorietta Passes, why were they all bent out of shape about getting up the little escarpment that would put them into Santa Fe, which was the territorial capital, after all? Is there some place that has more details about the construction of the AT&SF?

 

[Rail Freak]

I have read that Railroads, in infancy, were given so much $$$$ /per mile to build. The owners of these Railroads, therefore , zig zagged all over the place!!! I wonder if this may have been why?

 

[Ispolkom]

As anyone who rides the Southwest Chief knows, the train, despite running on a railroad that has "Santa Fe" in its name, doesn't actually run through Santa Fe, but rather stops in Lamy, about 20 miles from Santa Fe. The usual accounts abput why this is so state that the AT&SF civil engineers thought that the topography was to rugged to allow the railroad the be built through Santa Fe, and instead, routed their main line through Lamy and on to Albuquerque. After a recent trip to the area, I'd like to know the real reason.

1) Why bother with Santa Fe? Was the city generating much traffic at the time?

2) Why not plat a new city like Albuquerque on land you own, and make money selling the lots? Why make money for Santa Fe landowners? You then can build a branch to Santa Fe, and they have to lump it. What's the competition? Hint: Not the Denver and Rio Grande.

I don't know the history of the Santa Fe, but I do know that the Great Northern assiduously avoided existing towns in favor of laying out their own. Apparently it was a significant money maker for the town-building company, which was owned separately by James J. Hill.