Mexican Canyon Trestle
by Diana Powell
Title
Mexican Canyon Trestle
Artist
Diana Powell
Medium
Photograph - Photography / Digital Art
Description
In the 1800's, railroads provided a major transportation link throughout the West. Railroads, however, cannot be built without lumber for cross0ties. Casting eager eyes on the vast timber stands of the Sacramentos, the Eddy brothers hired the country's best mountain railroad engineer to build the Alamogordo & Sacramento Mountain Railway.
For 26 miles, the railroad climbed nearly 4,000 feet, winding along ridges, clinging to ledges, creaking across canyons on sturdy wooden trestles. For a time, scheduled excursion trains supplemented railroad revenues by carrying passengers to the fledgling community of Cloudcroft. As the train climbed the precipitous canyon walls, spectacular views unfolded around every bend, treating passengers to vistas of desert, mountains and sky.
Within 50 years, a new highway and the upstart internal combustion engine caused the decline of the railroad. In 1947, the line was torn up and sold as scrap.
The Cloud Climbing Route lay abandoned but not forgotten for another half-century. What was a steep and crooked path for a railroad is now a wide and easy path for hikers, mountain-bikers and cross-country skiers. In some places, the trail offers barrier-free access.
Uploaded
December 23rd, 2013
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