| The following information is from Bill Peternel's
response to a query posted on this website, and is
reprinted with his permission. Thanks, Bill!
"The railroad you seek in McKinley County is the
Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe. Also known more
commonly as the "Santa Fe", or the "AT&SF". I am
not familiar with the name Alsbrooks, but can tell
you railroad employment brought many new citizens to
Gallup in the period 1881-1925.
The AT&SF is, and always has been, Gallup's only
rail link. Gallup is located on the main line of the
Santa Fe and was founded by the AT&SF in 1881 as
a railroad construction camp. The town is named
after David Gallup, the AT&SF Paymaster of the
original construction camp.
"Frisco" refers to the Santa Fe's use of "the Frisco
Route", a slogan painted on the side of all their
rail cars for many, many decades as an advertisement
of freight and passenger service to the San
Francisco, CA area. The "Frisco Route" was an
advertising slogan of the AT&SF.
Gallup is located on the "Frisco Route" and its
fortunes were directly tied to the AT&SF for 65
years. Gallup is still a railroading town and a
regularly scheduled stop for all train traffic. The
AT&SF has been ranked in the top five largest
railroads in the U.S. since 1870. The Santa Fe ran
from Chicago to Los Angeles, then up the Pacific
coast to the SF Bay area.
The AT&SF was acquired in the mid 1990's by the
Burlington Northern Railroad and it operates today
as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF."
|
