The Historic Santa Fe Train Depot and the Railyard District

The Santa Fe Train Depot on Guadalupe Street was a station for the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The station connected Santa Fe to Lamy New Mexico via an 18 mile spur line since 1880. The spur line was built to connect to the railroad's main line which had a station in Lamy. The steep grade from Lamy up to Santa Fe discouraged the early surveyors. Nevertheless, the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad had great success in promoting Santa Fe as a first class and unique American southwest tourist destination.

Santa Fe Depot

The AT&SF continued their passenger operations on the spur line until the Interstate Highway system was built. At that point the passenger loads to Santa Fe were not cost efficient. People were taking top the highways with their new cars and on the constantly improving highway system. The railroad replaced the spur line operation with motorcoaches for the short ride to Santa Fe. 

The Santa Fe depot was also the terminus for a narrow gauge line that ran to the north. The Denver and Rio Grand Railroad had built a line south from Antonito Colorado to Espanola New Mexico. In fact, the D&RG essentially built Espanola by selling lots on the property they owned. The fact that the line only went south to Espanola, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe, did not sit well with Santa Fe residents, especially since the AT&SF bypassed Santa Fe proper due to the terrain. In response, Santa Fe built a narrow gauge line northward to Espanola. There ended up being about six years worth of delays because of contracts the D&RG had about how far down in New Mexico they could lay tracks. This was similar to the spur line built to Lamy in the south but was narrow gauge, meaning the distance between the rails was shorter than standard rail widths. The narrow gauges were three feet across. Santa Fe's effort would end up delayed about six years because of agreements the D&RG had as to how far into New Mexico they could lay track. Eventually the line was completed down to Santa Fe on October 21, 1886. In 1889, the section down to Santa Fe was officially taken over by the D&RG. The D&RG Railroad's line going south into New Mexico from Antonito was nicknamed "The Chili Line".

SFS Railroad Coach Car

In 1903 Santa Fe got itself another railroad. This one was the New Mexico Central Railway and it was a standard gauge system. The line ran from Santa Fe to Torrance New Mexico.


The D&RG Railroad's Chili Line took big financial hits during the years of the Great Depression. They announced their intention to abandon the line in 1939 and after government hearings (which were necessary to abandon a route at that time) the line carried it's last train on September 1, 1941.


The spur line has remained intact and today the line is a popular tourist route. Scheduled passenger rail was began again in the 1990's with the Santa Fe Southern Railway's purchase of the freight-only Santa Fe spur. The purchase included the depot. Today, tourists can take a fun and scenic ride in 1920's rail coaches on the spur line which is over 125 years old. What some people might not realize is that the Santa Fe Southern also carries freight to help serve the community. The train depot is in the Railyard District of Santa Fe which has grown and developed into both a popular tourist and residential area all within walking distance of the plaza. Many terrific restaurants in the district including Tomasita's, Zia's and Cowgirls.

Silver Lounge car

When you visit Santa Fe you may want to consider taking a fun ride down to Lamy on the Santa Fe Southern Railroads excursion train. The ride is about one hour each way with a short layover at Lamy. You can ride in the luxurious 1920's coach cars or ask about a ride in their 1950's era luxury lounge silver car. The train depot has many historic railroad artifacts and an excellent gift shop with some one of a kind items.


The train station is located at 410 S. Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe. The reservation number is 505-989-8600.