Texas & New Mexico Railway
The Texas & New Mexico Railway (reporting mark TXN) is a class III short-line railroad operating in west Texas and southeast New Mexico. The railroad line operates on 111 miles of track from a connection with the Union Pacific at Monahans, Texas, and terminates at Lovington, New Mexico. The railroad primarily provides freight service for the oilfields and related industries in the region.[1]
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Wolfforth, Texas | ||
| Reporting mark | TXN | ||
| Locale | Texas, New Mexico | ||
| Dates of operation | 2015–present | ||
| Predecessor | Texas - New Mexico Railroad (1926 - 2015) | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
| Length | 111 miles (179 km) | ||
| |||
History
Lovington, New Mexico is the terminus of the TNMR.[2] Before 1930, the planned Gulf, Texas and New Mexico Railway proposed to construct a branch running westward from Seminole, Texas via Lovington, NM and terminating at Roswell, New Mexico. However, the tracks were never constructed, and for a time the nearest rail line was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in nearby Seagraves, Texas.
As a result of the oil discovered in the Permian Basin in 1927, the Texas–New Mexico Railway was incorporated on November 19, 1927. Within a year the railroad fell under the control of the Texas & Pacific Railway. Construction commenced in 1928 and the line was completed on July 20, 1930.[3] In 1989, what was then Union Pacific sold the property to RailTex, and short line service started on September 18, 1989.[3] Railtex sold to RailAmerica in February 2000, which in turn sold to Permian Basin Railways in May 2002.[3] In September 2011, Iowa Pacific Holdings, which owned Permian Basin Railways, announced a major rebuilding of the railroad, including track upgrades and new locomotives, at a cost of more than $20 million.[4][5]
In May 2015 Watco purchased the assets of the Texas – New Mexico Railroad from Iowa Pacific Holdings, and renamed the railroad the Texas & New Mexico Railway.[6]
Ownership of the line
- 1930–1976: Operated as a subsidiary of the Texas & Pacific Railway (TP), which was a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP)
- 1976–1982: Operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad
- 1982–1989: Operated by the Union Pacific
- 1989–1999: Owned/operated by RailTex
- 1999–2002: Owned/operated by RailAmerica
- 2002–2015: Owned/operated by Permian Basin Railways
- 2015–present: Owned/operated by Watco.
Route
- Monahans, Texas (interchange with Union Pacific Railroad mainline)
- Cloyd, Texas (no longer shown in timetables)
- Prairie Spur, Texas (no longer Shown in timetables)
- Wink Junction (no longer shown in timetables - abandoned branch to Wink, Texas)
- Kermit, Texas
- Magwait, Texas
- Cheyenne, Texas (no longer shown in timetables)
- Jal, New Mexico
- Combest, New Mexico
- United Carbon
- Eunice, New Mexico
- Kornegray, New Mexico (no longer shown in timetables)
- Warren, New Mexico
- Climax, New Mexico
- Hobbs, New Mexico (yard/office)
- Permco (Airfield) (no longer shown in timetables)
- Kimbrough, New Mexico (no longer shown in timetables)
- Southern Union Oil
- Lea County Oil
- Lovington, New Mexico
See also
References
- "UP: Texas New Mexico Railroad TNMR #815." Union Pacific Railroad. Web. 02 Aug. 2011. http://www.uprr.com/customers/shortline/lines/tnm.shtml
- New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Lovington." New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Digital History Project. Web. 02 Aug. 2011. "New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Lovington". Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- "Texas and New Mexico Railway TXN #815". Union Pacific. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- "Iowa Pacific Holdings to upgrade Texas-New Mexico's track, motive power". Progressive Railroading. September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- "Permian Basin Railways". Iowa Pacific Holdings. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- "Watco to acquire two west Texas short lines". Progressive Railroading. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.