The Texas & New Mexico Railway is a class III short-line railroad operating in west Texas and southeast New Mexico. The railroad line operates on 111 miles of track from a connection with the Union Pacific at Monahans, Texas, and terminates at Lovington, New Mexico. The railroad primarily provides freight service for the oilfields and related industries in the region."UP: Texas New Mexico Railroad TNMR #815." Union Pacific Railroad. Web. 02 Aug. 2011. http://www.uprr.com/customers/shortline/lines/tnm.shtml
History Lovington, New Mexico is the terminus of the TNMR.New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Lovington." New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Digital History Project. Web. 02 Aug. 2011. Before 1930, the planned Gulf, Texas and New Mexico Railway proposed to construct a branch running westward from Seminole, Texas via Lovington, NM and terminating at Roswell, New Mexico. However, the tracks were never constructed, and for a time the nearest rail line was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in nearby Seagraves, Texas.
As a result of the oil discovered in the Permian Basin in 1927, the Texas–New Mexico Railway was incorporated on November 19, 1927. Within a year the railroad fell under the control of the Texas & Pacific Railway. Construction commenced in 1928 and the line was completed on July 20, 1930. In 1989, what was then Union Pacific sold the property to RailTex, and short line service started on September 18, 1989. Railtex sold to RailAmerica in February 2000, which in turn sold to Permian Basin Railways in May 2002. In September 2011, Iowa Pacific Holdings, which owned Permian Basin Railways, announced a major rebuilding of the railroad, including track upgrades and new locomotives, at a cost of more than $20 million.
In May 2015 Watco purchased the assets of the Texas – New Mexico Railroad from Iowa Pacific Holdings, and renamed the railroad the Texas & New Mexico Railway.
Ownership of the line 1930–1976: Operated as a subsidiary of the Texas & Pacific Railway (TP), which was a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP) 1976–1982: Operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad 1982–1989: Operated by the Union Pacific 1989–1999: Owned/operated by RailTex 1999–2002: Owned/operated by RailAmerica 2002–2015: Owned/operated by Permian Basin Railways 2015–present: Owned/operated by Watco.
Route Monahans, Texas (interchange with Union Pacific Railroad mainline) Cloyd, Texas (no longer shown in timetables) Prairie Spur, Texas (no longer Shown in timetables) Wink Junction (no longer shown in timetables - abandoned branch to Wink, Texas) Kermit, Texas Magwait, Texas Cheyenne, Texas (no longer shown in timetables) Jal, New Mexico Combest, New Mexico United Carbon Eunice, New Mexico Kornegray, New Mexico (no longer shown in timetables) Warren, New Mexico Climax, New Mexico Hobbs, New Mexico (yard/office) Permco (Airfield) (no longer shown in timetables) Kimbrough, New Mexico (no longer shown in timetables) Southern Union Oil Lea County Oil Lovington, New Mexico
See also
Fort Worth & Denver Railway Roscoe, Snyder and Pacific Railway West Texas and Lubbock Railway
References
External links Iowa Pacific Holdings' Texas–New Mexico Railroad page