Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail
By John Moody in 1919
The story of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, often referred to as the Santa Fe Route, is a compelling narrative of ambition, perseverance, and the relentless pursuit of westward expansion in the United States. Emerging long before the concept of a coast-to-coast transcontinental railway fully captured the national imagination, the Santa Fe Route would eventually evolve into one of the nation’s most extensive and profitable rail networks.
The genesis of this ambitious project can be traced back to 1858, a time when the vast plains of Kansas were largely untamed and the vision of linking the eastern states with the distant Pacific coast was still a nascent idea. A modest proposal was put forth to construct a 40-mile railway line within the burgeoning state of Kansas. This initial segment was intended to connect the then-obscure towns of Atchison and Topeka, a seemingly unremarkable undertaking in a region where the iron horse was yet to make its mark.
At the time, Kansas, and indeed the entire territory west of it, possessed no significant railway infrastructure, save for the burgeoning lines along the Pacific coast, fueled by the frenzied gold rush and the ensuing surge in immigration. This initial vision, however, was soon overshadowed by the tumultuous events that would engulf the nation.
The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 cast a long shadow over the nation, halting many ambitious projects, including the nascent Atchison-Topeka line. The war years saw resources diverted and priorities shifted as the country grappled with internal strife. Consequently, the Atchison-Topeka project remained dormant until 1868, when new investors and a renewed sense of purpose breathed life back into the dormant enterprise.
In 1868, a new group of stakeholders assumed control of the venture, envisioning a much grander scope than the initial 40-mile line. These ambitious individuals secured the rights to extend the railway southwestward across Kansas, all the way to Santa Fe, the capital of the New Mexico Territory. This ambitious expansion was a bold statement of intent, signaling the railroad’s aspirations to become a major player in the westward movement.
The company, initially known as the Atchison-Topeka, underwent a name change to reflect its expanded ambitions, becoming the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Crucially, the railroad secured a substantial land grant from the federal government, a common practice at the time to incentivize railway construction. This grant allocated 6,400 acres of land for every mile of track laid, a significant boon that promised to provide the company with vast resources.
The land grant came with a specific condition: the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad had to complete the line from Atchison to the western border of Kansas within ten years. This meant constructing approximately 470 miles of track, which, upon completion, would grant the company control over nearly three million acres of land within Kansas. This vast expanse of land represented a potentially immense source of revenue and a powerful incentive to drive the project forward.
On the surface, a decade seemed like ample time to complete this relatively short railway, particularly with the substantial incentive of the land grant. The Union Pacific, Central Pacific, and Kansas Pacific Railroads, all of which were instrumental in forging the first transcontinental railroad, had accomplished significantly more construction within the same timeframe to secure their respective grants. These railroads had overcome immense logistical challenges, harsh terrain, and even violent conflicts to achieve their goals. Yet, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad lagged behind, struggling to gain momentum.
Despite the ten-year deadline, the Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail faced significant hurdles. Years after the opening of the Union Pacific to the coast, the Santa Fe had barely managed to lay 50 miles of track. The primary reason for this slow progress was financial. Unlike the other major railroads, which received government aid in the form of cash, securities, and land grants, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was forced to rely on its own resources to raise capital. This proved to be a major obstacle, delaying construction and hindering the company’s ability to compete with its better-funded rivals.
It wasn’t until late in 1869, nearly a year after the completion of the Union Pacific, that the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad finally commenced any significant construction work. In that year, the section from Topeka to Burlingame, a distance of approximately 28 miles, was opened for traffic, marking a small but significant milestone. A year later, the line was extended to Emporia, bringing the total operational track to 61 miles.
As the deadline for the land grant approached, the pressure on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad intensified. The terms of the grant stipulated that the entire line across Kansas had to be completed by June 1873. By 1872, with only 61 miles of track built, the company faced a daunting challenge: constructing over 400 miles of track within just ten months to secure the coveted land grant.
Faced with this seemingly impossible task, the owners of the Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail property launched a herculean effort. From that point forward, they worked with unparalleled energy and determination. Within seven months, they managed to reach the eastern boundary of Colorado, thus securing the land grant and averting financial disaster. This remarkable feat of engineering and logistical coordination demonstrated the company’s resilience and its commitment to achieving its goals.
However, like many of the western railroads built in those early days, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was, in some ways, ahead of its time. The rapid pace at which it had traversed Kansas in 1872 was matched only by the speed with which it subsequently encountered financial difficulties. No sooner had the complete line been opened for traffic than the Panic of 1873 struck, plunging the nation into a severe economic depression.
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad found itself burdened by a large floating debt, and a compromise had to be reached with the bondholders, involving a postponement of a year’s interest payments. This financial crisis underscored the inherent risks of railway construction in the sparsely populated and economically volatile West.
The economic downturn following the Panic of 1873 put a halt to any further extensions of the Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail. The road ended at the Colorado state line in 1872, marking a temporary pause in its westward march. During the ensuing years, the only significant construction was a western spur that connected with the Denver & Rio Grande at Pueblo, providing an outlet to the growing city of Denver and the rapidly developing mining regions of Colorado. This connection, while important, was merely a stopgap measure, a temporary solution to the company’s limited reach.
Around 1880, construction resumed, proceeding at a more leisurely pace down the valley of the Rio Grande into New Mexico and towards Albuquerque. This extension, as well as subsequent construction projects, often followed the route of the old Arizona Trail. According to one account, the original builders of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad followed the Arizona Trail so closely that if the trail skirted a stream to find a shallow fording point, the railroad builders did the same, rather than constructing a bridge. Similarly, where the trail deviated to avoid obstacles or hazards, the railroad followed suit.
While this anecdote may be somewhat exaggerated, it highlights the challenges faced by the early railroad builders and the extent to which they relied on existing trails and knowledge of the terrain. However, the Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail has long since addressed these early construction quirks, and the main line in this section of New Mexico is now known for its straight alignment and gentle grades.
The builders of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad undoubtedly envisioned eventually reaching the Pacific coast, recognizing that the true potential of the road lay in that direction. The Southwest, at that time, was sparsely populated, and a railroad that solely served the plains or deserts of Arizona and New Mexico would struggle to thrive, at least for the foreseeable future. The promise of connecting with the bustling ports and markets of the Pacific coast was a powerful incentive, driving the company’s long-term strategic planning.
However, in the early 1880s, the fundamental objective of the Atchison system remained undecided. Having reached Santa Fe, its initial goal, the road had extended to Albuquerque but could not afford to remain there. To survive and prosper, it needed through traffic. New Mexico, with its limited population and lack of economic development, could not provide sufficient traffic to sustain the railroad.
Extending the line became an imperative necessity, but the question was: where? Several routes were under consideration. The Southern Pacific lines had reached El Paso on the Mexican border, several hundred miles south of Albuquerque. One option was to extend the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to El Paso and negotiate a traffic agreement with the Southern Pacific. Another possibility was to build an extension through New Mexico to Deming and then westward along the river valleys and into Mexico to Guaymas on the Gulf of California. Finally, building directly west from Albuquerque through Arizona and Southern California to the coast was also considered. Ultimately, all of these plans would be realized, albeit at different times and in different ways.
The first extension was to Deming, New Mexico, where, in March 1881, its tracks connected with those of the Southern Pacific. Through an agreement, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad gained access to the Southern Pacific line to Benson, Arizona. This new route to the Pacific proved immediately profitable. Later, the line into Guaymas, Mexico, was added through the purchase of the Sonora Railway. Soon after, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad acquired a half interest in the charter of the Atlantic and Pacific from the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, a company with plans to build to the coast.
However, the Gould and Huntington interests acquired the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, which, as owners of the Texas and Pacific and the Southern Pacific systems, naturally opposed the plans of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. A compromise was reached, with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad agreeing not to build further west than the Colorado River, where it would be met by an extension of the Southern Pacific line from Mojave, California.
This arrangement proved unfavorable to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, as the Southern Pacific naturally diverted traffic to El Paso and Ogden. A new agreement was made in 1884, involving the purchase, by the Atlantic and Pacific, of the Southern Pacific division between Needles and Mojave, securing trackage rights between Mojave and San Francisco, and utilizing the Southern Pacific terminals at San Francisco.
To ensure a connection with the coast in Southern California, the Railroad Building Along The Santa Fe Trail constructed a line to Colton, acquired the California Southern Railway from Colton to San Diego, and gained access to Los Angeles by leasing the Southern Pacific tracks from Colton. This complex series of acquisitions and agreements demonstrates the intense competition and strategic maneuvering that characterized the railroad industry in the late 19th century.
Having reached the Pacific coast, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad faced another challenge: poor connections with the East. Its next move was eastward to Chicago, acquiring the Chicago and St. Louis Railroad between Chicago and Streator, Illinois. It then constructed lines between Streator and the Missouri River. During the same year, the company opened branches southward to the Gulf of Mexico. By May 1888, the entire system comprised 7,100 miles, a testament to its rapid expansion and ambition.
However, this rapid expansion, combined with extravagant management and a reckless dividend policy, led to financial difficulties within a year of the system’s completion. Unprofitable branches had been built, burdening the main system. This was a common story for many large railroads of the era. Efforts were made to save the property from receivership, and a committee was appointed in September 1889 to devise reforms and reorganize the company.
The new management implemented rational policies and significantly reduced the road’s obligations. Had this spirit been maintained, a second failure and reorganization might have been avoided. However, new interests came into the property, and despite initial hopes for a conservative approach, the previous program of expansion resumed. In 1890, the St. Louis and San Francisco system was merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad on extravagant terms. Within a year, it became clear that the St. Louis and San Francisco would be a liability rather than an asset. The less significant purchase of the Colorado Midland Railway also proved to be a poor investment.
The following four years were marked by further financial mismanagement, culminating in the failure of the reorganized company. In 1892, an exchange of income bonds for fixed interest-bearing bonds increased the company’s fixed charges. As a result of the Panic of 1893 and the ensuing depression, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad found itself in the hands of a receiver. An examination of the books revealed gross irregularities, dishonest management, and manipulation of accounts.
In 1894, the property was operated under the protection of the courts, and a comprehensive reorganization plan was implemented in early 1895. This plan involved dropping the St. Louis and San Francisco system, the Colorado Midland, and other unprofitable branches, wiping out the floating debt, supplying millions in new capital, and enabling the succeeding management to improve the property.
At the head of the new company was Edward P. Ripley, a railroad manager of great executive ability and a practical, broad-minded businessman. Ripley’s leadership proved transformative. The history of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad since 1895 has been closely intertwined with Ripley’s career. Under his guidance, the railroad experienced steady progress in business volume, system development, and improvements to its rights of way, terminals, and equipment. Its resources grew to vast totals, its credit equaled that of the best American railroads, its stocks and bonds became prime investments, and it poured millions of dollars of profits into the hands of its stockholders.
The story of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad is a complex and fascinating tale of ambition, perseverance, and the relentless pursuit of westward expansion. From its humble beginnings as a small railway in Kansas to its eventual rise as one of the nation’s largest and most profitable rail networks, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad played a crucial role in shaping the American West and connecting the nation.
Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated May 2024. The text is not verbatim, as grammatical errors and spelling have been corrected and updated for the modern reader.
About the Author: John Moody wrote The Railroad Builders, A Chronicle of the Welding of the States in 1919. Penetrating the Pacific Northwest is the seventh chapter of the book. The tale is not 100% verbatim, as minor grammatical errors and spelling have been corrected.
Also See:
Railroad Main Page
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad
A Century of Railroad Building
Indian Troubles During Construction