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LINCOLN NATIONAL
FOREST |
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The
Mexican Canyon Trestle circa 1900 carrying
passengers. |
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The
Trestle circa 1900 and today, note the sag in the
middle of the structure. |
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The
Trestle today from the northern side.
Possible location of future observation deck. |
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Cloudcroft Mayor Dave Venable, NM Rails-to-Trails
President Tom Springer, Lincoln National Forest
Supervisor Lou Woltering, Congressman Steve Pearce
and Otero County Commissioner Mike Nivison.
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Slideshow
of historical images
Slideshow
of the reconstruction
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SHOW
& TELL YOUR STORIES
Help
us preserve the history of this structure by
sharing your experiences and/or photos. If
you or someone you know would like to share your
experiences 'way back when...' please contact
us. We'd love to record your
stories.
Please
contact Peg Crim or Eric Dillingham (USFS) at
575-434-7200. |
Need for Restoration (back to top)
The Mexican Canyon Trestle
was the largest trestle along the route of the Cloud
Climbing Railroad and today is the only
one still standing. Some of the vertical
(posts and sway braces) and
horizontal members (sills and caps) of the trestle are rotting away or
already deteriorated and the results can be seen in
the significant 'sag' in the middle of the trestle.
The Lincoln National
Forest completed an environmental analysis in 2006
which set the stage for restoring this irreplaceable
landmark. This analysis included both the
restoration of the trestle itself and plans for
expanding the existing recreation opportunities in the
area. Additional ideas include an observation
platform with interpretive signs along US82, stairs
from the new deck to the old railroad grade and a
smaller observation deck at the north end of the
trestle.
Volunteers (back to top)
Phase 1: Thanks to our volunteers
work has begun on clearing the land around the trestle
and in areas where equipment will be located.
Phase 2: The actual
chemical preservation of
existing members of the trestle and replacement of
those not salvageable. (currently
on-going)
Getting Involved:
If you have a group that would be interested in the
history of the trestle and the committee's future
plans, please let us know and a representative will be
glad to schedule a visit with your organization.
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Facts of the Mexican
Canyon Trestle |
| - Height
is 60' in the center |
| - Length
is 300' |
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end is 9 feet higher than the north end |
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22
Bents make up the main trestle supports
(see below) |
| - Bent 1
is the northern most , Bent 23 is the
southern most |
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Anatomy of a
Trestle (back to top)
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Cross section of the Mexican Canyon Trestle viewed
looking east (north is to the left of the
image). There are 22 bents that make up the
span of the trestle and bents 1-9 are currently
being working on. Bents 10-22 will be worked
on in the spring of 2010. The entire
trestle is braced so that as portions of each bent
are worked on, the other portions will remain
safe. In all cases, original wood and other
construction materials will be used where ever
possible. In some cases, the wood needs to
be completely replaced due to rotting and
deterioration.
9/11/2009 Update: Bents 10 and 11,
the center most, tallest and most damaged portions
of the trestle will be added to the fall's
work. Money was obtained and the contract
was extended to allow Osmose to fix these two
critical bents. The remaining will be worked
on in the spring
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Below
is a diagram of what is called a BENT. Each
BENT is comprised of tiles, stringers, a cap,
posts, sway braces etc. Put them all
together and you get one bent. Connect
all the bents together with cross supports and you
get a trestle. |
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The diagram to
the left shows the basic components of a
timber type trestle. One of these is
called a BENT |
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 The photo to the right is a photo of the
Mexican Canyon Trestle from beneath.
Can you match up the components of the
diagram to the actual BENT? |
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Volunteers at Work
(back to top) |
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Local individuals
and groups have shown their love and admiration
for the trestle by volunteering their time to
remove the vegetation that has grown around it,
allowing contractors to access the trestle for
their work. Volunteers included El Paso Ridge
Walkers, Boy Scout Troop 147, Alamogordo Civil Air
Patrol, HAFB First Sergeant’s Association, and
many individuals from Otero County and El Paso. We
will have one more work day this fall, on
Saturday, November 1st. Please contact Peg Crim at
pcrim@fs.fed.us
or 434-7231 if you would like to join us.
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Volunteers
join a debris brigade to clear debris from around
the site.
The
Trestle showing the cleared vegetation at the base
of the structure.
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The
gang's all here! Orientation and morning
meeting amongst the volunteers.
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Lincoln National
Forest Archaeologist
Eric Dillingham and volunteers chopping and
cutting away at the debris. |
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Volunteers
of all ages help out
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Military volunteers from the 1st Sgt's
Association of Holloman Air Force Base work hard to chop and
clear away the brush from the foot of the
trestle.
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One of the
military volunteers taking a moment to admire the
hard work done. Well done guys!
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The trestle from the
south end, you can see the work done on the bottom
left to clear the brush away from the structure. |
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History of the
Railroad
(back to top)
Visit our
Passport In Time Page for other historical
information on work being done by the Lincoln National
Forest and volunteers to capture the history of
railroads and their communities.
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Construction of the
Alamogordo and Sacramento Railroad from Alamogordo
to Cloudcroft in 1898–1899 immediately
allowed for lumber operations to begin in the
9,000-foot-high Sacramento Mountains of southern
New Mexico. El Paso'ans and other regional
residents and tourists soon discovered an
alternate use of the mountains as an escape from
the desert heat via the tourist cars on the
trains. High Rolls and Cloudcroft became
tourist destinations, but the trains that took the
tourists also delivered logs to Alamogordo.
Russia and Marcia were isolated, semi-permanent
logging, sawmill and railroad camps south of
Cloudcroft. Russia’s heyday lasted from 1903
to 1907 with Marcia as a logging headquarters
beginning in 1921 through to the 1940's with
repair facilities for trains located there as
well. By 1942, railroad logging operations ceased
in the Sacramento Mountains.
Click
on each photo for a larger view. |
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The old trestle at
Bailey Canyon, the landings are still visible.
The middle trestle,
between Bailey Canyon and the Mexican Canyon
Trestle. Note the wagon on an old road at
the base. |
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The Cloudcroft depot
circa 1910. This was located just behind the
current Methodist Church in Cloudcroft. |
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A view looking east
toward Bailey Canyon from the Switchback showing
an old trestle along the way. The switchback
is now part of a trail system.
The S-Trestle with a load behind
it. The remains
of this trestle can be seen along the 5001 trail
near Cloudcroft. |
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Page created by
LCole, 08/26/2009 |
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