Texas & New Mexico Railway
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The Texas–New Mexico Railroad (reporting mark TNMR) is a short-line railroad operating in west Texas and southeast New Mexico. The railroad line operates on 104 miles of track from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad 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]
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 and Pacific Railway. Construction commenced in 1928 and the line was completed on July 20, 1930.
In September 2011, Iowa Pacific Holdings, which owns the TMNR, announced a major rebuilding of the railroad, including track upgrades and new locomotives, at a cost of more than $20 million.[3]
Ownership of the line
- 1930–1976: Operated as a subsidiary of the Texas and 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 Railroad.
- 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 Companies.
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
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. http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=4826
- ^ "Iowa Pacific Holdings to upgrade Texas-New Mexico's track, motive power". Progressive Railroading. September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
