mileage
263.5 Pass beneath Interstate 25 and arrive at the TRINIDAD station, Pine and North Commercial Streets. Elevation approximately 5985. The first cabin in the area was built by Gabriel and Juan N. Gutiérrez, and the settlement was
original called Río de las Animas (“River of Souls”). As it became a gathering point for early trappers and settlers, the town
was soon known as Santísima Trinidad, or “most holy trinity.” Trinidad was another center on the Santa Fe Trail, and has long
been sustained by its coal resources, as well as being good grazing range for cattle and sheep. The first coal mine was opened
by Frank Bloom in 1867.
On Christmas Day in 1867, an impromptu
wrestling match in the area between Mexicans and Anglo farmers erupted into several weeks of violence between the Mexicans and the
Americans, and was known as the “Trinidad War.” The conflict became so violent that Federal troops were called in to quell the
violence after New Years in 1868.
In the early 1900’s, the
Colorado Fuel & Iron Company was operating several coal mines in the area, and forcing the workers to live in less than desirable
conditions. They had to live in company housing, buy products only from the company store, and had to be treated only by company
doctors. By 1913, the United Mine Workers had been organized in northern Colorado, and moved to the Southern Coal Fields to
try and organize a union to help the workers get treated fairly. This began several decades of violence between the union workers
and various detective agencies hired by the coal company, and strikes. The detectives and guards were called off in 1914, however,
in April of that year, one of the most violent union incidents in the country occurred at nearby Ludlow.
One of the most influential people in the mining community then was a frail woman named Mary Harris Jones, aka “Mother Jones.” She was committed to a lifelong struggle to win labor rights for miners in the area, and organized marches and taught women how to
defend their homes from company bullies.
265 The Purgatoire River is again adjacent to the railroad
on the right (eastbound). We are now entering the Great Plains. Topography will be relatively flat the rest of the way
to Kansas City; however, a few good views of the Sangre de Cristos and the Rockies will be visible behind the train and to the left
for a while. Look for antelope and deer in the prairies adjacent to the railroad over the next couple hours.
The prominent peaks on the horizon on the west (left if eastbound) are the Spanish Peaks, which are composed of Tertiary-aged igneous
intrusive rocks which have pushed up through the underlying Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. Several horizontal dikes radiating
from the Spanish Peaks cross the highways to the north of here. The primary underlying bedrock along this portion of the railroad
is the Cretaceous-aged Pierre Shale.
267.5 The small settlement of El Moro is visible to the left of the railroad
(eastbound). The settlement was originally a spur from the railroad. The name El Moro may be Spanish for “The Moor,” which
is a native of Morocco, or it may be a misspelling of the word “Morro,” which means “headland” or “bluff.” Some bluish white
horses with brown spots are also known as “el moro.”
274 Pass through Hoehne (pronounced HOH-nee). The town is named after “Dutch Bill” Hoehne, a German pioneer who came to the area in the 1860’s. Hoehne built the first irrigation
system in the area.
285 Pass through community of Model. This town was originally named “Poso,”
after the Spanish pozo, for “well.” It was later changed to Roby, then again changed to Model as the settlers had hoped to make
the community a “model town,” with an independent irrigation district.
291.5 Pass through the settlement of Tyrone. The original name of the community was Yetta, but in 1929, it was changed to Tyrone, after a county in Ireland. We are still
traversing the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation.
300 Pass through the community of Thatcher. This town was originally known as Hole-in-the-Rock, after a spring in the area from which cattle and horses could get water. The name was later changed to honor M.D. Thatcher, a Colorado banker and businessman.
According to AAPG (1990), there may be a small anticlinal structure in this area trending NW-SE, in which older rocks, which have
been eroded, are exposed in the center of the structure, and younger rocks near the edges of the structure. Because of the extensive
erosion in the area, however, you probably cannot pick out the structure from the train. Rocks in the center of the structure
are the older Dakota Sandstone, which is surrounded by younger Carlile and Greenhorn Formations. See diagram after MP 312.
307 We are following the valley of Timpas Creek; however, the bluffs on the right (eastbound) are composed of Cretaceous Greenhorn and
Carlile Formations, and may be capped by Niobrara Formation (?).
308.5 The settlement of Delhi is located along Highway
350, west of the railroad (right if eastbound). The town was named after New Delhi, India, but was formerly known as Edwest,
named after an early resident.
309 Enter OTERO County. This county is named after Miguel
Otero, one of the founders of La Junta, the county seat. The county was formed from Bent County in 1889. The word “Otero”
is Spanish for “hill,” and the city of La Junta was formerly known as Otero.
We are also entering the Comanche National Grassland. The portion of the Grassland is Otero County is the northern “Timpas Unit.” The Grassland had its beginning during the “dust bowl” years of the 1930’s, in which the Federal Government purchased over 400,000
acres of failed cropland, prohibited additional agricultural cultivation of the land, and then preserved the area as short-grass prairie. The area was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1954, and was designated as a National Grassland in 1960. The Comanche
National Grassland is the home of several species of wildlife, and also contains numerous preserved Cretaceous-aged dinosaur tracks,
as well as several Indian petroglyph sites.
309.5 Bloom Hill, on the right (eastbound), is composed of Upper Cretaceous
Greenhorn and Carlile sandstones and shales.
312 The hills to the south are capped with Dakota
sandstone, and mark the center of a small anticline. Eroded rock strata around the older core consist of younger Greenhorn
and Carlile Formations
314 Pass through settlement of Bloom. This town was named after M.D. Thatcher’s
son-in-law, Frank Bloom. Bloom operated several cattle ranches in the area which were owned by Thatcher.
316.5 Mindeman siding. Springs Hills, to the south (right if eastbound) are composed of Upper Cretaceous Carlile and Greenhorn Formations.
327.5 Timpas. The Spanish word “timpa” means “a bar of stone or iron in a blast furnace.” The Santa Fe Trail at this settlement
was the site of a notorious Indian attack on a trade caravan in September 1837. One person was killed and 3 were wounded. The Indians stole approximately $3000 worth of goods, including fabric, buffalo robes, guns, prayer books, coffee, sugar, and other
items.
331 The topography is now gradually beginning to flatten out more as we approach the flood
plain and valley of the Arkansas River. Our route is once again underlain primarily by the Niobrara Shale.
337 The large reservoir to the north (left if eastbound) is Crooked Arroyo Reservoir no. 2, most likely used to store water for irrigation
purposes.
340 We are gradually leaving the outcrop area of the Niobrara Formation, and entering
the wide valley of the Arkansas River. Some of the deposits along either side of the railroad in this area are Quaternary-agedeolian deposits (sand dunes).
345 LA JUNTA station, 1 W. First Street. Elevation approximately
4063. La Junta means “the junction” in Spanish, and referred to the junction of two portions of the Santa Fe Trail at this location,
and later a junction of two ATSF railroad lines. The railroad arrived in the area in 1875. La Junta is a division point
on the railroad, and is also known for its abundant fruit, melon, and cattle resources. Of particular note is the Rocky Ford
cantaloupe, which is grown in the area. The town was formerly known as Otero, and is the seat of Otero County.
La Junta is the home of the Koshare Indian Museum, in which the “Koshare Dancers” 9actually a local Boy Scout troop) perform ceremonial
Indian dances.
346 The railroad is now parallel to the Arkansas River on the left (eastbound). The Arkansas River is 1460 miles long, and flows into the Mississippi River further east, in Arkansas. This is the same river
that flows through the Royal Gorge, west of here, long ago a well-known spot on passenger trains of the former Denver & Rio Grande
Western Railroad. Passenger trains no longer operate through Royal Gorge.
349.5 Casa siding. The Arkansas
River flood plain is on the left (eastbound); however, the exposed low cliffs on the right are composed of tightly interlayered shale
and limestone of the Cretaceous Carlile and Greenhorn Formations. These thin alternating layers of limestone and shale indicate
that, during the Cretaceous Period, this area was occupied by a shallow sea which experienced frequent sea level fluctuations and
was filled with alternating clear and muddy water.
353 Across the river on the left (eastbound)
are the ruins of Old Fort Bent. The fort was established in 1833 as a fur trading post by William Bent, Colorado’s first permanent
white settler. Kit Carson was employed at the Fort as a hunter and trader for a while. It was later a supply center for
emigrants using the Santa Fe Trail, and during the Mexican War, from 1846 to 1848, it was an army post. Parts of the fort have
been reconstructed, and are now administered by the National Park Service.
354 Enter BENT County. This county was established in 1874, and was created from a part of Greenwood County. It was named after Charles and William
Bent, who established Fort Bent, which is now located in Otero County (see MP 353 above). The county seat is Las Animas.
364 Pass through Las Animas. The name Las Animas is a shortened version of the name of the river which flows through the town –
the Purgatoire River (see MP 366 below), which was originally called “El Rio de las Animas Perdidad en Purgatorio,” (the River of
Lost Souls in Purgatory). The name Purgatoire was then later corrupted into “Picketwire.” Las Animas is a livestock and
trade center for area ranchers. One of the largest ranches in the state was established in 1869 by James, Peyton, and Stephen
Jones, and called the J.J. Cattle Company, which eventually covered more than 2 million acres and had 55,000 head of cattle. In 1881, the ranch was sold to Scottish investors, who reorganized it into the Prairie Cattle Company.
In 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike first spotted the high peak to the west of here, which was later named after him.
369 First view of John Martin Reservoir on the north (left if eastbound). The reservoir is a manmade impoundment of the Arkansas
River. The dam was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930’s. The reservoir will be visible on the
left (eastbound) for the next 11 miles.
Across the reservoir
on the left (eastbound) is the Fort Lyon Veteran’s Hospital. Fort Lyon was named after Nathaniel Lyon, a Civil War General who
died in the 1861 Battle of Wilson’s Creek, in Missouri, during the Civil War. The fort was originally located further east,
near Granada, but was moved to this location because of its vulnerability to flooding from the Arkansas River. Troops stationed
here took part in the 1862 battle of Glorieta Pass (see MP 76.5 above). In 1868, Kit Carson, who was employed to protect trappers
and traders from Indian attacks, died at Fort Lyon from an arrow wound. This location of the fort was in service until October
1889, and in 1934, the site became a U.S. Veteran’s Hospital.
The sedimentary rock strata in this area are tilted gently northward, toward the Denver Basin. To the south, older exposures
of the Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone can again be seen. The Dakota Sandstone lies below the younger Upper Cretaceous alternating
limestones and shales which we have been seeing.
374.5-375 Cross an impoundment of Rule Creek, an arm of the John Martin Reservoir. A the edge of the flood plain on the south, more exposures of the Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone can be seen.
380.5 John Martin Dam is visible on the north (left if eastbound). The resistant, cross-bedded Dakota Sandstone along the Arkansas
River has formed a natural “narrows” for the river, and thus a good dam site.
381 On the left (eastbound)
is the small settlement of Caddoa. This town was established in 1863 and most likely named after the Caddo Indian tribe, who
now live in Oklahoma. This particular tribe called themselves “kaduhdáachu.”
384 Able siding. Now that we have left the John Martin reservoir, the contact can be seen between the older Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone to the north
(left if eastbound) of the railroad, and the younger Upper Cretaceous Carlile and Greenhorn Formations. The Carlile and Greenhorn
Formations are less resistant to erosion than the Dakota Sandstone, therefore they form relatively flat north-dipping slopes, while
the Dakota forms more prominent and higher bluffs and peaks.
389.5 Pass through the small settlement of Prowers,
named after rancher John W. Prowers.
391 Enter PROWERS County, which was also named after John
W. Prowers. Prowers introduced the first Hereford cattle to the Arkansas River Valley. Prowers County was formerly a part
of Bent County. The county was established in 1889.
398 LAMAR station, Main and Beach Streets. Elevation approximately 3615. Lamar was originally known as Blackwell, named after cattleman A.R. Black. In 1886, the
Santa Fe Railroad arrived in town, and the town’s name was changed to Lamar, after Lucius Q.C. Lamar, who was President Grover Cleveland’s
Secretary of the Interior. Lamar is an agricultural and ranching center in the Arkansas Valley.
The AMTRAK station at Lamar also serves as a State “Welcome Center,” and next to the station is the 12-ft high Madonna of the Trail
marker, one of 12 such monuments, each one in a different state, which honor the lives of the early woman pioneers who braved the
Santa Fe and other western trails.
Lamar is the home of the
Big Timbers Museum, which contains exhibits depicting life from the 1800’s until the 1930’s. The “Big Timbers” refers to an
area along the Arkansas River which contains numerous groves of large cottonwood trees.
Lamar is also known as the “goose hunting capital of America,” due to its abundance of large lakes which abound with geese.