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Santa Fe Railway Shops (Albuquerque)
Encyclopedia
The former Santa Fe Railway Shops in Albuquerque, New Mexico
, consist of eighteen surviving buildings erected between 1916 and 1924. The complex is located south of downtown in the Barelas
neighborhood, bounded by Second Street, Hazeldine Avenue, Commercial Street, and Pacific Avenue. The shops were one of four major maintenance facilities constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
, the others being located in Topeka, Kansas
, Cleburne, Texas
, and San Bernardino, California
. The railway shops were the largest employer in the city during the railroad's heyday. Currently they have been empty for years but a variety of plans have been proposed for the historic complex.
were first erected on the site in the 1880s, after Albuquerque was designated as the division point between the AT&SF railway and the Atlantic and Pacific Railway. After buying out the A&P in 1902, the Santa Fe Railway began expanding and modernizing the old A&P shops in 1912. The first buildings to be completed were the roundhouse, storehouse, power station, and freight car shops, all of which were located south of the present complex near the present Bridge Boulevard overpass. These structures have since been demolished, but the subsequent buildings completed after 1915 are all still standing.
structure, with uninterrupted glass
curtain wall
s on the north and south faces and more substantial reinforced concrete
facades on the east and west sides. The expansive main bay of the building is 57 feet (17.4 m) high with several overhead cranes
for lifting locomotive
s and is floored with wood
en blocks to cut down on noise.
The smaller Boiler Shop, which was completed in 1923, stands to the north of the Machine Shop and is similar to it in design and appearance. Obscured by the Blacksmith Shop to the east and the fire shed to the west, the Boiler Shop is not easily visible from the street.
The oldest building still standing on the site is the Blacksmith Shop, which was built in 1916. It is situated along a north-south axis on the east side of the complex (near Commercial Street), north of the Machine Shop. The Blacksmith Shop is similar to the later buildings but with facades of brick
rather than concrete.
Another significant structure is the Fire Station, a rustic, Mediterranean-style building with sandstone
walls, crenelated parapet
s, and an asymmetrical corner tower. It stands on the northwest corner of the complex, near the intersection of First and Second streets. Built in 1920, it is the oldest surviving fire station in Albuquerque.
to be called the Wheels Museum, a multi-use retail and exposition center, and a state-of-the-art digital film studio. So far, none of these ideas have gotten off the drawing board.
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, consist of eighteen surviving buildings erected between 1916 and 1924. The complex is located south of downtown in the Barelas
Barelas
Barelas is an inner-city neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, located immediately south of Downtown. It consists of the triangular area bounded by Coal Avenue, the BNSF railroad tracks, and the Rio Grande. Originally a separate village, it was absorbed into Albuquerque during the...
neighborhood, bounded by Second Street, Hazeldine Avenue, Commercial Street, and Pacific Avenue. The shops were one of four major maintenance facilities constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, the others being located in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. According to 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 29,050. It is the county seat of Johnson County. Cleburne is named for a Confederate General, Patrick Cleburne...
, and San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
. The railway shops were the largest employer in the city during the railroad's heyday. Currently they have been empty for years but a variety of plans have been proposed for the historic complex.
History
Railroad shops and a roundhouseRoundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
were first erected on the site in the 1880s, after Albuquerque was designated as the division point between the AT&SF railway and the Atlantic and Pacific Railway. After buying out the A&P in 1902, the Santa Fe Railway began expanding and modernizing the old A&P shops in 1912. The first buildings to be completed were the roundhouse, storehouse, power station, and freight car shops, all of which were located south of the present complex near the present Bridge Boulevard overpass. These structures have since been demolished, but the subsequent buildings completed after 1915 are all still standing.
Buildings on the site
By far the largest building is the Machine Shop, which spans the full width of the site from Second to Commercial and contains about 145000 square feet (13,470.9 m²) of floor space. The Machine Shop was completed in 1921 and was considered at the time to be at the cutting edge of industrial design. The building has a steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
structure, with uninterrupted glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
s on the north and south faces and more substantial reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
facades on the east and west sides. The expansive main bay of the building is 57 feet (17.4 m) high with several overhead cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
for lifting locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s and is floored with wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
en blocks to cut down on noise.
The smaller Boiler Shop, which was completed in 1923, stands to the north of the Machine Shop and is similar to it in design and appearance. Obscured by the Blacksmith Shop to the east and the fire shed to the west, the Boiler Shop is not easily visible from the street.
The oldest building still standing on the site is the Blacksmith Shop, which was built in 1916. It is situated along a north-south axis on the east side of the complex (near Commercial Street), north of the Machine Shop. The Blacksmith Shop is similar to the later buildings but with facades of brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
rather than concrete.
Another significant structure is the Fire Station, a rustic, Mediterranean-style building with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
walls, crenelated parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s, and an asymmetrical corner tower. It stands on the northwest corner of the complex, near the intersection of First and Second streets. Built in 1920, it is the oldest surviving fire station in Albuquerque.
Future plans
Various plans have been discussed for the Santa Fe shops, including a transportation museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
to be called the Wheels Museum, a multi-use retail and exposition center, and a state-of-the-art digital film studio. So far, none of these ideas have gotten off the drawing board.