Southwestern Railroad - Carlsbad Subdivision
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Southwestern Railroad - Carlsbad Subdivision
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Click here to skip the intro and go directly to the photos.
On Sunday, October 3, 2004, shortline Southwestern Railroad began operating the BNSF
Carlsbad Subdivision (former ATSF, Clovis NM to Carlsbad, plus industrial spurs serving
potash mines east of Carlsbad and east of Loving) under a lease agreement. Customers
include potash mines near Carlsbad, a petroleum refinery in Artesia, and various
feed mills and agricultural-related businesses south of Roswell and also in Portales.
The Carlsbad Subdivision is Southwestern's third railroad, and is operated separately
from (and does not directly connect with) its other two, which are based out of
Hurley, New Mexico and Perryton, Texas. SW's Carlsbad operations are based out of
the old Santa Fe depot located east of downtown Carlsbad. There are two yards in Carlsbad: the old yard east
of downtown, and
La Huerta yard located several blocks north and east of downtown on the Carlsbad
Industrial spur. If you're in the area, you're likely to find SW's locomotives at either location.
Other places to check include the towns of Artesia, Roswell,
and Portales.
Locomotives on SW's Carlsbad Subdivision at the time of its early October startup
include: SW 3588, 3776, 3819, and 3910 (all SD40-2s, believed to be ex-UP) and GP40
3134 (unknown heritage). Locomotives SW 9710 and 9964 (GP40s, unknown heritage) and
SW 2601 and 2602 (GP26s, most recently in service on the Cimarron Valley RR) are
scheduled to arrive on the property in early November. BNSF locomotives continue
to operate between Clovis and Carlsbad on the potash "drags" -- unit trains of hoppers
loaded with potash which originate from Carlsbad -- and on occasional unit loaded grain
trains destined to feed mills south of Roswell. A number of other BNSF locomotives were still on the Carlsbad
Subdivision during the transitional period in October.
SW uses radio channel 18
(160.380 MHz).
SW's operations on the BNSF Carlsbad Sub began during the week of Sunday, October 3, 2004. I was on vacation in New Mexico
that week, and spent part of the day of Friday, October 8 observing and photographing SW's operations.
Please click any picture below to see a larger image.
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Southwestern SD40-2 3776 leads an eastbound local departing Roswell, NM --
destined for Clovis -- on October 8, 2004.
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Southwestern's eastbound local climbs slowly upgrade, out of the Pecos River
valley, near Acme, New Mexico on October 8, 2004. El
Capitan Mountain looms in the background.
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Southwestern's eastbound local approaches Acme, NM on October 8, 2004.
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Southwestern SD40-2s 3776 and 3558 lead the eastbound local through Campbell, NM on October 8, 2004.
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Transition: Southwestern and BNSF SD40-2s congregate in Carlsbad, NM on the evening of
October 8, 2004. During SW's first
month of operation, BNSF locomotives were still present on the Carlsbad Sub while
SW awaited the arrival of additional power.
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A Southwestern crew uses a BNSF SD40-2 to switch La Huerta yard in Carlsbad
on October 8, 2004.
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Southwestern RR SD40-2 3819 at Carlsbad, NM. October 8, 2004.
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Southwestern RR GP40 3134 at Carlsbad, NM. October 8, 2004.
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There are still some classic Santa Fe-style station signs in place on the Carlsbad Sub, such as this one at Elida, NM.
Photographed October 8, 2004.
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Station sign at Loving Jct., NM. October 8, 2004.
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Check out the "Carlsbad Mystery Alcos"
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All images on the Southwest Railfan © 2000 - 2006 by Wes Carr.
All rights reserved.
