Going Up and Over in New Mexico

The front of this post card shows two steam locomotives very close to each other, but not one attached to the other. This is because these engines

are going up Raton Pass on the Santa Fe Railroad line.
Raton Pass is a 2,388 meter high (7,835 ft) mountain pass between New Mexico and Colorado. It stretches from Raton, New Mexico and Trinidad, Colorado. It is northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico and straight south of Puebl0, Colorado, but not close to either of them; it is approximately 290 km northeast of Santa Fe on the border between the two states. Captain William Becknell discovered the pass while he was surveying for the Santa Fe Trail in 1821. This pass was part of the route between Kansas City and Santa Fe when the pioneers were out to settle the West. Today you can travel on Interstate 25 through the pass.
During the 1800s, the pass was the main route into New Mexico for the Santa Fe Railroad as it's primary route through the mountains. Unfortunately, the route over the pass included gradients of up to 3.5%. That is why you see two engines on the front of this post card. There was always a locomotive around to help the scheduled trains get up and over the pass. Finally having enough of this, the Santa Fe began work on the "Belen Cutoff" in October of 1902. It's completion in 1908 meant that the trains no longer had to negotiate the steep grades of the Raton Pass. They could glide (in comparison) over a maximum grade of 1.25%. Having said that, Amtrak still used the pass twice a day for its passenger service.

The post card comes from early in the Divided Back Era (March 31, 1907 - 1915); it was mailed on April 20, 1907. Williamson-Haffner Company was a publisher of lithographic souvenir books and view-cards of the American West. While their views were largely based on photographic reproduction, many scenes were artist drawn. They also produced comic postcards. They were based in Denver, Colorado and only existed from 1905 to 1910. The author of this post card was lucky to find one made by this publisher.

Written 110 Years Ago Today

Today's post card does not have a picture of any part of a train in it. Instead, there is an empty Santa Fe train track. I chose to collect this card because it is indicative of the type of terrain some of the trains in the Southwest United States had to traverse. A "bonus" feature is that it was near this canyon that the Battle of Glorietta Pass was fought during the Civil War. "Glorietta Pass and Apache Canyon are the site of the 1862 battle called "The Gettysburg of the West," when Union troops from nearby Fort Union, joined by volunteers from Colorado led by John Chivington, turned back a Confederate attempt to march north up the Rio Grande and capture the gold regions around Pikes Peak and Denver, Colorado." --- from http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/places/states/newmexico/nm_glorietta.htm The result of this battle was that New Mexico did not become a confederate territory.

This post card is an example of the 1915 - 1930 era post card called the "White Border" era.
In the bottom left of the post card is the numbering: H-1363. This indicates to me that this was a post card printed by Curt Otto Teich for Fred Harvey. This is quickly confirmed by looking in the upper right hand corner where it says, "Copyright by Fred Harvey". The Harvey House was an oasis of comfort and civilization along the railway routes of the Southwest. Entrepeneur Fred Harvey, dismayed by the often crude facilities he had seen at railway stops, endeavored to provide clean and welcoming lunchrooms, restaurants, and hotels as alternatives. His name became synonymous with quality accommodations -- an image fostered by clever and attractive advertising which drew in tourists from around the world. The Harvey House chain also offered tours to cultural, geological, and archeological attractions, further opening the Southwest to visitors. Harvey had close connections with the Santa Fe Railway, contracting to provide dining services along the line; this mutually beneficial association allowed Harvey to use the railroad for free shipment of supplies, while providing railway passengers with quality rest stops. --- from https://abqlibrary.org/c.php?g=19363&p=108880

The back of the post card also confirms that this is a Fred Harvey post card. The message was typed onto the post card; don't see that very often, although I do have a couple of them. The date on the back that was typed in says it was written 110 years ago today.