Santa Fe's last scheduled run to the Rio Grande Editors Pick! Contributor's Pick!       
ATSF 1646 West, the last regularly scheduled train from San Angelo, Texas to Presidio, Texas crosses Alamito Creek. This huge trestle (1,206 feet long x 107 feet high) is located about 15 miles north of Presidio and, except for driving down the dry creekbed in a 4WD, in only accessible by rail. Two B23-7s powered this 20-car train, which had a reporter (John Walker) and a photographer (Cadel White) along to document the run. The train crossed the bridge and dropped us off, then backed back out for us to get photos. For two days, we had absolute run of the train, thanks to Trainmaster Roy Williams of Brownwood.
Date: 12/20/1990 Location: Presidio, TX   Map Show Presidio on a rail map Views: 2133 Collection Of:   John Walker
Locomotives: ATSF 6389(B23-7)    Author:  John Walker
Santa Fe's last scheduled run to the Rio Grande
Picture Categories: Scenic,Bridge This picture is part of album:  BRIDGES
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User Comments
Name Type Comments Date
Allan Love Jr General That is some classic Santa Fe power. 1/27/2011 7:49:14 PM
Olaf Junges General Great photo! 1/30/2011 4:37:20 AM
Chris S General Great story, great shot! 3/19/2011 11:19:07 PM
George Redmond General Great shot. 3/20/2011 10:28:47 AM
John Danielson General Awesome photo! 3/20/2011 9:50:57 PM
William H. Davis Jr. General Nice shot 3/21/2011 1:51:29 AM
David Abeles General Classic Santa Fe, all around. Nice! 3/21/2011 8:38:44 AM
Jim Satterwhite General Great photo and story. This is a well deserved Ediotor's Pick. 3/23/2011 3:41:19 PM
Alex Vaughn General Very nice shot! 3/24/2011 10:31:26 PM
David Stewart General Very Nice, good shot!! 3/27/2011 6:21:35 PM
Chris Balducci General Is this track still in place? God bless. 3/30/2011 2:49:43 PM
A.J. Gonfiantini General Nice MKT hopper! 11/2/2011 9:52:27 AM
Fred Stuckmann General Awesome image & congratulations John. 11/25/2011 4:31:35 PM
Gerald Malan General Glad you preserved the memory. 12/17/2011 12:38:24 AM
Switchman Images General Absolutely surreal. Just think, it's been through the South Orient, who almost abandoned it, and is now part of a major resurgence in oil / frac sand for traffic, most of which I assume is coming from the states, so trains like this may not be seen often at all. 3/31/2012 10:55:59 PM
John Walker General I covered the entire process of Santa Fe's proposed abandonment of the line, which was filed in late 1988. As regional editor of the San Angelo Standard-Times, I uncovered an agreement between ATSF's proposed buyer, American Railroads, and a scrapper from Conroe, Texas. The interest generated by the 31 articles I published led to the establishment of the South Orient Rail District and the sale to South Orient. Never was abandonment and scrapping any more real that it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As a railfan, this was a memorable happening. In my 50 year newspaper career, this was the most meaningful piece I ever worked on. I've not been back to see the line since 2001. As I wrote the series of articles, I actually walked much of the line — collecting date nails and making various discovries. When the international bridge is rebuilt, the only limitation on the trains to Topolobampo will be the size of the tunnels west of Chihuahua City. 10/6/2017 10:23:28 AM

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