Raton is an active railroad station in the city of Raton, Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. Located at 201 South First Street, the station serves Amtrak's Southwest Chief. Connections are also available to Denver, Colorado via Amtrak Thruway bus service. The station is staffed during the summer season when tourism for the Philmont Scout Ranch and the National Rifle Association (NRA) Whittington Center is at its peak. During off-seasons, it is open at all train times, maintained by a caretaker. Passengers with layovers there often visit the non-profit Old Pass Gallery, located on the station grounds in the restored 1910 Railway Express Agency building. The station also includes a former freight depot.
Raton, NM | |||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||
| Location | 201 South First Street Raton, New Mexico | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°54′04″N 104°26′16″W / 36.9010°N 104.4378°W | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 6,750 feet (2,060 m) | ||||||||||||
| Owned by | BNSF Railway | ||||||||||||
| Line(s) | BNSF Raton Subdivision | ||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Connections |  Amtrak Thruway | ||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||
| Station code | Amtrak: RAT | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| Opened | July 4, 1879[1][2] | ||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | May 7, 1903–January 4, 1904[3][4] | ||||||||||||
| Previous names | Otero (1879–1880)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||||
| January 1904 | Former station demolished[4] | ||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||
| FY 2023 | 7,628[5] (Amtrak) | ||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||
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Railroad service through the community of Otero, New Mexico Territory began on July 4, 1879, when service opened to Las Vegas on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad began construction of a new station in May 1903. Designed in a Mission Revival architectural style, the new depot opened on January 4, 1904.
See also
editBibliography
edit- Federal Writers' Project (1940). New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State. Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission. ISBN 9781623760304. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
References
edit- ^ a b "A. T. & S. F. R.R. Time Card No. 23, Taking Effect Sept. 7th". The Daily Gazette. Las Vegas, New Mexico. September 26, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved November 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project 1940, p. 96.
- ^ "New Depot at Raton Now Under Way". Albuquerque Morning Journal. May 8, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "A Snap". The Las Vegas Daily Optic. January 7, 1904. p. 3. Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of New Mexico" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
Further reading
edit- Conway, Jay T. (1930). A brief community history of Raton, New Mexico. Raton: Gazette Print. p. 17 p.
- Myrick, David F. (1990). New Mexico's railroads: a historical survey. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 276 p. ISBN 0-8263-1185-7.
- Swain, George. "Railroads, towns and mining camps of the Raton region, 1860-1960". New Mexico Railroader. 10 (4).
External links
edit
Media related to Raton (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons
- Raton, NM – Amtrak
- Raton, NM – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- Raton Amtrak Station – USA RailGuide (TrainWeb)
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