With years of undignified blood spilled on its soil, New Mexico was desperately craving a change in events; something that would assist its citizens positively, and thus, in the 1960s, came a redeeming event, the introduction of the railroad to the United States. The railroad, otherwise known as the First Transcontinental railroad, was all part of an elaborate competition between two companies to connect the coastlines. An incredible feat that appropriated nearly ten years to construct, one can consider it one of the most crucial technological advances in the history of our country that allowed the effortless fleeting of goods and people across the country. The railroad’s construction began during the horror that was the Civil War and promptly …show more content…
Growing to one of the most widely known and largest railroads around the country, the AT&SF’s expansion expended all the way to Needles, California in 1883, Los Angeles in 1885, Chicago, Illinois in 1888 and San Francisco in 1900. Eventually, the railroad would have roots planted in Louisiana and most, if not all, of Texas’ major cities. All of these major cities and the over 13,000-mile connection between them, lead to Santa Fe’s subsequent blossoming into a well-known and prevalent industrial icon in the early twentieth century. While the railroad itself was crucial to a growth in transportation, the trains that ran along the tracks were just as important. One such locomotive that played an important role, called the Chief, instantly drew the eyes of passengers in late 1926, which then eventually evolved into the Super Chief in the late 1930s, a new streamlined passenger diesel decorated with the legendary Warbonnet paint scheme. This specific train could reach up to ninety miles an hour carrying well-known figures within its chassis, which played a crucial part in its ability to reach LA from Chicago in forty hours. Inspired by the success of the Super Chief, several trains attempted to replicate …show more content…
The widespread placement of the tracks delivered goods and materials across the country’s rugged terrain and lengthy distances at a pace that no one had seen before. Thousands of jobs opened up along the tracks, attracting many to settle in what we now know as the city of Albuquerque, sparing its citizens from remaining unemployed. Its expansion, in turn, expanded the economy and industrial advances nationwide, as most towns relied on the business and goods the rails