Other Names: Albuquerque Rail Yards, Albuquerque Locomotive Shops, Santa Fe Repair Facility
By Edith Cherry and James See –
November 11, 2023
Address: 1100 2nd Street SW, Albuquerque NM 87102
Access: A weekly market is held on Sundays at the Blacksmith’s Shop, the adjacent plaza, and the Tender Repair Shop. See Railyards Market site. The WHEELS Museum, located in the former Storehouse, is open to the public. See Wheels Museum site for hours. The remainder of the Rail Yards site is currently closed to the public.
The railroad came to Albuquerque in 1880, and by 1930 had transformed the farming village into a commercial center for the state. By 1919, the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Rail Yards employed one quarter of the city’s work force, and these industrial buildings were viewed with pride as symbols of progress and prosperity.
Industrial architecture in the U.S. in the late 19th century followed a building tradition beginning with medieval-style warehouses: stone or brick; heavy timber structure; and multiple stories located in the middle of town. After about 1905, steel-reinforced concrete became common for industrial buildings. The strength of concrete allowed for thinner walls, more room for windows for lighting, longer roof spans and other advantages. Also, manufacturing moved to the edge of cities where there was more room for single-floor production, more functional flexibility, and cheaper land. Steel frame construction, addressing the desire for shorter construction times, became popular during WWI. The Albuquerque Rail Yards’ buildings illustrate many of these changes in industrial architecture.
The AT&SF Railway ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. By 1909, Albuquerque Rail Yards were one of four major maintenance centers between these two locations. The other yards were located in Topeka, Kansas; Cleburne, Texas; and San Bernardino, California. Between 1914 and 1924, the largest industrial plant in New Mexico was the Albuquerque Rail Yards.
Locomotives
In order to understand the architectural functions of the Rail Yards buildings, we first need to understand the architecture of the locomotives that were maintained there. The greatly simplified diagram below shows the major parts of a steam locomotive and explains the Albuquerque Rail Yards building names.
Components:
Tender: Supplies, or “tends to,” the engine by providing fuel and water.
- Water Compartment: Water storage is compartmentalized, i.e. baffled, to minimize sloshing of water with motion of the train.
- Coal Bunker (later models used fuel oil).
Engine: Provides the power to move the train.
- Cab: Where the engineer and fireman control the locomotive.
- Firebox: Where the fuel is burned, creating high temperatures needed to turn water into steam.
- Flue Tubes: Where the hot gasses pass to distribute heat through the boiler to produce steam.
- Boiler: Contains the water that is being heated into steam.
- Smoke Box: Collects excess heat and smoke from flues and exhausts it.
- Steam Dome: As water converts to steam, the steam moves to the steam dome and is transferred to the pistons.
- Piston: Each side of the engine has a piston. Steam is directed to the front and back of the piston, alternately, to power the piston’s stroke in each direction. The power stroke of the pistons is offset (i.e., clocked) to maintain the constant momentum of the driven wheels.
- Main Connecting Rod: Transfers power from the piston to driver wheels. The connecting rod/wheel combination converts linear motion to rotational motion.
- Driver Wheels (or Drivers): Move the train.
Rail Yards Functions
While the buildings were built at different times, the layout of the major functions grew to accommodate the busiest years during WWII. Some locomotives ran for as many as 400,000 miles before requiring a major overhaul that took about a month to perform.
The basic functions were as follows:
Daily Maintenance:
- Steam locomotives and their tenders required daily servicing that took place in the Roundhouse (demolished in 1986; the 120-foot-long Turntable remains). Roundhouses were located every 100 to 150 miles along the route of the AT&SF, and some still remain in locations such as Las Vegas and Clovis, NM.
Workers removed ashes and clinkers (the incombustible, fused residue of, primarily, burned coal). They cleaned fireboxes, flues, and smoke boxes. When needed, they washed out or treated boilers to remove mineral build-up. They inspected, cleaned, and lubricated moving parts. They also made minor repairs. Albuquerque’s Roundhouse had 35 stalls, more than any other roundhouse in the state.
Major Maintenance:
- Locomotives used a sidetrack to enter and begin the maintenance process at the southeast corner of the complex. Inspections determined the work to be done. Some parts could be removed and delivered to the south side bays of the Machine Shop by the Gantry Crane. There were also a few other entrance tracks from the south side for various assignments.
- Locomotives moved into the Machine Shop’s Erecting Bay where they could be dismantled or moved to one of the 26 work bays by the 250-ton bridge crane. Parts could also be moved by one of the two 15-ton cranes. The bays to the south of the Erecting Bay were equipped for work on various engine parts. Outside, on the south side of the Machine Shop, was a 15-ton capacity gantry crane to help move parts and materials.
- The Transfer Table moved on tracks running east-west. Large components could be moved from the Machine Shop to the Transfer Table and relocated to the appropriate shop for maintenance unique to that item.
- The Boiler Shop specialized in refurbishing boilers in one of its 17 workstations. A 30-ton overhead crane managed internal movement of boilers and parts.
- Tenders were moved through the Machine and Boiler Shops on a track that entered the complex from the south or arrived on the Transfer Table. Tender maintenance included fixing leaks, repairing valves and cleaning, as well as working on and repairing wheels, axles, and brakes.
- The Flue Shop fabricated and repaired the many pipes that were located in the boilers of the locomotives. Its adjacency to the Boiler Shop facilitated their reinstallation in the boilers.
- The Blacksmith Shop fabricated and repaired other components that could not be made on conventional machine tools in the other specialty shops. Old driving wheels and other scrap metal were re-forged on site into new components in this building.
Major Buildings
The following descriptions introduce the major buildings in chronological order of their construction. This order well illustrates the development of the industrial architecture characteristics described above.
Storehouse (now the WHEELS Museum)
Storehouse, Now the WHEELS Museum, 2023, Looking Southeast. Photo by Jim See.
The Storehouse, a 20,850-square foot, very long rectangle, was built in 1914, one of the earliest structures in the new Rail Yards. The location of the original maintenance facilities, demolished earlier, was further north. Stretched out along a track west of the Roundhouse, the Storehouse’s 35,000 items could be readily delivered to and accessed from rail cars.
Architecturally, this structure is primarily functional, but it does illustrate the reinforced concrete period of industrial architecture, later found at the Rail Yards in the Flue Shop in 1920. The walls, floors, structure, and roof are all poured-in-place concrete. The walls show the pattern of the boards that formed the concrete, inside and out. Notice that the concrete supports for the ceiling also support the clerestory that lights the center of the building. The current use of the building takes advantage of the wall space below the high windows as did the original use.
AT&SF Storehouse, March,1943. Photo by Jack Delano. Library of Congress # LC-USW3-020528-D, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information.
WHEELS Museum Interior, 2023. Formerly the Storehouse. Photos by Jim See.
Roundhouse
The Roundhouse, built in 1914 and demolished in 1986, was built of reinforced concrete with 35 stalls, and end walls of architectural design similar to the Flue Shop that was constructed six years later. The detailed plans developed by Santa Fe engineers in Chicago were for a wedge-shaped single stall. AT&SF stations that needed a roundhouse could build the required number of stalls appropriate for their locations. This roundhouse was south facing with clerestories that could provide the benefit of the winter sun. The outside wall was also glazed, providing light for daytime operation.
Turntable
The Turntable was built in 1915, of steel plate in the configuration of a steel girder. It is set in a 120-foot diameter, 4-foot-deep pit. Powered by an internal combustion engine, it is still used occasionally.
Blacksmith Shop
Constructed in 1917, the Blacksmith Shop contains 24,480 square feet. The red brick walls recall some of the earlier industrial buildings in the country that used masonry construction. However, the steel structural frame set inside the masonry walls reflects the later move to more rapidly built steel structures. On the north and south ends, the gabled roof abuts stepped brick parapet walls with large windows and wide center doors that allow a locomotive to pass through on the central track.
Blacksmith Shop Interior, February 1948. Albuquerque Museum, PA1980.184.907. Gift of Albuquerque National Bank.
The steel trusses, spanning 80 feet east-west, have a curved bottom chord that allows a higher clearance at the center where the tracks are located. This higher clearance provided space for a locomotive to be driven into or through the shop.
The large banks of windows on the east and west walls span nearly floor to ceiling, providing natural light during the day. The upper 10-lite sash units operate on horizontal pivots, allowing them to be opened fully to ventilate the upper part of the building. This window configuration was repeated later throughout the complex.
The City of Albuquerque sponsors events at the Blacksmith Shop and the Plaza at the Rail Yards (see “Access” at the beginning of this post). Currently, activities include sale of specialty items, hand-made goods, locally grown produce, food, and musical performances. Some improvements to the Blacksmith Shop by Van H. Gilbert, Architects, PC, and Bradbury and Stamm Construction included window repair and a new sign at the north entry. The Plaza at the Rail Yards was designed by MRWM Landscape Architects (now Pland Collaborative) and completed in 2019. Seeking name of Landscape Contractor.
Flue Shop
The Flue Shop, also called the Pipe Shop, was built just to the west of the Blacksmith Shop in 1920. This 9,464 square foot building is constructed of reinforced concrete from foundation to roof, illustrating the period of industrial architecture that had shifted from masonry to concrete. As with the Storehouse, even the roof beams supporting the roof monitor are reinforced concrete. There are 10 structural bays, with floor-to-ceiling windows on east and west between the supporting, board-formed, concrete wall segments.
In the Flue Shop, all the pipes in the boilers of the locomotives were repaired or fabricated from scratch, if necessary. In the following 1943 photo, workers appear to be welding one end of a flue (pipe), with many more pipes to the left.
The 1986 photo illustrates the similarity between the Flue Shop structure and that of the Storehouse (now the WHEELS Museum). Both buildings have similar clerestories, or roof monitors, to light the center of the building. The Flue Shop has a narrower roof span and so did not require a center column as did the Storehouse.
The south end of the Flue Shop connects to the east end of the Boiler Shop. The doors to the Boiler Shop are visible to the left in the 1968 photo. This connection facilitated the dismantling from and reinstallation of the flues into the boilers.
The Flue Shop has been remodeled to house business occupancy for City-related uses. The work essentially repaired the structural shell and provided all new roof, floors, and windows. New heating, air conditioning, fire suppression, and rest rooms, make the space ready for new occupants. The architects for the remodel were Hartman + Majewski Design Group and the contractor was Jaynes Corporation.
Flue Shop Refurbished Interior looking Northwest. Photo by Patrick Coulie.
Fire Station
The Fire Station, an operation owned by the AT&SF Railway and also built in 1920, broke away from the industrial architecture of the remainder of the Rail Yards completely. It was built near the location of earlier railway shops using salvaged stones from those demolished buildings. These stones were originally quarried at Laguna Pueblo. Perhaps the available stone suggested the rustic and picturesque, Mediterranean Revival style. The Fire Station’s comparatively remote location relative to the Rail Yards buildings that needed protection might have been a safety consideration.
The two-story building housed two bays for fire trucks and space for other equipment on the first floor, and sleeping quarters on the second floor; part of the second story floor is wood rather than masonry. The off-center tower provided room for hanging fire hoses to dry. Some of the details of the building included tile accents, a crenellated parapet on the major walls, stone arches on windows, stone buttresses, and a wood-and-tile gabled roof on the tower. The Fire Station is a City of Albuquerque Historic Landmark. See Albuquerque Landmarks Commission.
Machine Shop
The Machine Shop, the largest and most impressive building of the complex, was built in 1921. The massive 240 feet by 604 feet structure covers 144,960 square feet, arranged in four bays with descending heights from north to south. (See diagram of Functions.) This structure, the largest building in Albuquerque at the time, illustrates the later stages of industrial architecture with full height windows on the east and west sides and ample skylights and clerestories in the roof plane.
Machine Shop, North Façade and Transfer Table, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
The east and west façades, formed in reinforced concrete, set the Neo-Classical style of the three most important buildings using a parapet with a triangular portion on the highest bay, stamped with the AT&SF seal. These end pieces elaborate on the concrete faces of the older Roundhouse and the Flue Shop. The window pattern on this concrete facade implies multiple stories, but in reality, they are exercises in proportions harkening back to palaces, now replaced by industry.
Machine Shop, Erecting Bay, Looking East, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
The interior of the Erecting Bay is dominated by the windows and complex roof structure. The steel frame structure uses a limited number of standardized parts that allowed the entire building to be built in only eight months. The column pattern of the Erecting Bay, 57 feet clear height, is of interest because its columns serve a double purpose: (1) they support the structure of the walls and roof, and (2) they support the cargo of the 250-ton and two 15-ton bridge cranes. Notice that the columns are very wide up to the 250-ton crane rail, then become very thin. This change indicates that the roof is very light compared to the weight of a locomotive. To support these loads, the Erecting Bay columns rest on concrete footings held up by oak friction piles buried in Rio Grande Valley sand. All of the other footings in this huge building are simple concrete footings.
The floor is the “operating room” for this locomotive hospital. There were originally 26 work bays, each with a pit for working on the underside of a locomotive. All bays were equipped with steam, gas, and electricity. Rails for work bays extended to the north (left in the photos) out of the building to the Transfer Table. Some of the pits have been filled in.
The flooring is blocks of end-grain wood over a concrete slab. This type of industrial flooring, still available today, minimized breakage, provided underfoot comfort, minimized expansion and contraction strains, and controlled vibration and noise. When this building is refurbished, this flooring may need to be replaced because of today’s fire codes (they contain grease and oil) and the poor condition of the blocks.
The Heavy Machinery Bay, 35 feet clear height, dealt with very heavy parts such as the driving wheel sets shown, and had a 15-ton capacity crane, as well as many jib cranes mounted on the columns. To the south, the Light Machinery Bay and the Bench Bay, both with 22 feet-9 inches of clear height, included a second level for other functions such as metal working machines and offices above. The Light Machinery Bay housed lathes and other metal working machinery. The Bench Bay housed a variety of rooms at ground floor and above: offices, wash and locker rooms, and electrical and tool rooms.
Machine Shop, Light Machinery Bay, Looking West, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
Machine Shop, Bench Bay, Looking West, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
Gantry Crane, Looking West, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
The Gantry Crane alley to the south of the Machine Shop once had two 15-ton cranes. One 15-ton crane remains in place. This work area could deliver and pick-up smaller parts to be transported to the Machine Shop itself or to other parts of the Rail Yards via the rails within and at the Transfer Table.
Transfer Table
Transfer Table, Looking West, March, 1943. Library of Congress # LC-USW3-020484-D, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information. Seeking information about photographer.
The Transfer Table, built in 1922, is 60 feet wide and 604 feet long. It is the main conveyor of heavy objects between all the major buildings. Rails approach from both sides allowing, for example, a repaired boiler to be loaded from the western-most bay in the Boiler Shop and transferred to a centrally located bay in the Machine Shop for reinstallation in a repaired locomotive. Two transfer decks, one with an enclosed cab, travel on four rails mounted at the bottom of the Transfer Table pit.
Boiler Shop
Boiler Shop, 2023, Looking Northeast. Photo by Jim See.
Boiler Shop, Erecting Bay, Looking West, 2005. Library of Congress, Historic American Engineering Record, # HAER NM-12-A-3. Photo by Jet Lowe.
The Boiler Shop, built in 1923, covers 58,000 square feet, and maintains the basic architectural features of the Machine Shop but with less height and width. The shop has two major bays: an Erecting Bay to the south and a Heavy Machinery Bay to the north. (See diagram of Functions above.) The Erecting Bay had 17 workstations, each with rail connection to the Transfer Table. It has a 30-ton bridge crane.
The Boiler Shop has full-height windows on the south side, mirroring the Machinery Shop façade and 13 skylights on the roof of the Heavy Machinery Bay. As with the Machine Shop, each bay has large, bi-folding doors for access from the Transfer Table. The north elevation also has full height windows, except where the Tender Repair Shop and the Flue Shop abut it. The Erecting Bay has no skylights, but receives ample south sun. The Heavy Machinery Bay has 13 steel-framed operable skylight sections because the attached buildings cause the north side to receive less natural light.
The Boiler Shop received a new roof, new concrete flooring, and an extensive clean-up completed in 2021. The original tracks from the Transfer Table are maintained in the new concrete floor that was originally wood, end-grain blocks. Colored concrete is scored to look like wood block inserts and installed between the rails. The original configuration of the skylights has been retained and the glazing repaired and replaced. The architects for the remodel were Lee Gamelsky Architects PC, and the contractor was Jaynes Corporation.
Boiler Shop, Heavy Machinery Bay, Looking West, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
Boiler Shop, Looking South through the Heavy Machinery Bay to the Erecting Bay and the Doors to the Transfer Table, 2023. Photo by Jim See.
The originally all-open, four-bay canopy to the west of the Boiler Shop was used for testing locomotives. The ventilators on the roof exhausted the smoke. Two bays were enclosed in the 1950s for painting railroad cars.
Tender Repair Shop
Tender Repair Shop, North Façade, 2005. Library of Congress, Historic American Engineering Record, # HAER NM-12-1. Photo by Jet Lowe.
The Tender Repair Shop, at approximately 16,200 square feet, is the smallest of the three glass-walled buildings at the Rail Yards. This shop repaired the tenders, the support cars for the locomotives. Built in 1925, the building abuts the Boiler Shop and a track runs from the Transfer Table, through the Tender Repair, and outside to the north of the building. The north façade is derived from the end walls of the Machine and Boiler Shops with a reinforced concrete, Neo-Classical façade. But, in this case, the façade faces north and the openings do not suggest multiple stories, but are full-height doors. Originally, multiple tracks exited this building to the north through these doors. Now, there is only one track, and some doors have been filled in. The later, smaller, Cab Paint Shop to the west blocks some of the west windows.
The steel structure has eight bays, and supports a roof monitor, glazed on the east and west sides, above the center of the structure. The concrete floor is original. The architects for the new roofing and other improvements were Hartman + Majewski Design Group and the contractor was Jaynes Corporation.
Minor Buildings
Much smaller, special-purpose buildings remain on the site (see Site Plan at the beginning of this post) such as the Pattern House (1922), South Washroom (1917), and Babbit Shop (1921, named after the inventor of a metal alloy, called Babbit, that reduced friction on bearings and was applied in this building). The buildings are utilitarian construction and add more to the important functional story of the complex, than to the architectural story. Their preservation is vital to a complete narrative of such an important part of Albuquerque’s and New Mexico’s history.
EPILOG
After WWII and during the 1950s, diesel engines became very popular. In addition to being more powerful, they required less maintenance and fewer people to drive and manage repairs. After a brief stint addressing track maintenance in New Mexico, AT&SF closed the Albuquerque Rail Yards. The Roundhouse and Roundtable continued to function at a reduced capacity, and by 1986, the Roundhouse was demolished.
As the years passed, these remarkable buildings deteriorated. Vandalism and squatters’ fires took their toll. Movie makers used the buildings as sets for dystopian films of decaying industrial scenarios. But, such remarkable buildings cannot be ignored or forgotten. Efforts to save the buildings grew and finally in 2007, the City of Albuquerque bought the Rail Yards to save them from further deterioration.
The buildings illustrate the history of industrial architecture in the United States in the early 20th Century, beginning with the masonry buildings (Blacksmith Shop and Fire House), the concrete structures (Roundhouse, Storehouse, and Flue Shop), and finally the steel and glass “palaces” (Machine Shop, Boiler Shop, and Tender Repair Shop).
The City of Albuquerque is making efforts to preserve these buildings and find new uses for them. The weekend markets have familiarized “Burqueños” with these gems in their midst, and planning efforts are aimed at mixed use development for the future preservation of these icons of New Mexico’s industrial development.
Rail Yards
Completed: 1914 to 1925
Architect/Builder
E.A Harrison, AT&SF Architect
C.F.W. Felt and G.W. Harris, AT&SF Engineers
A.F. Robinson, Bridge Engineer
Steel Contractor (Machine, Tender Repair, and Boiler Shops): American Bridge Company
Historic Registers:
National Register of Historic Properties: #14000859 (2014) Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company Locomotive Shops
NM State Register of Cultural Properties: #2003(8/8/2014)
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:
John Roberts and others at the New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society for their assistance with the information about steam locomotives, tour of Locomotive 2926, and details about the shops.
Jill Hartke, Digital Archivist / Photo Archives, Albuquerque Museum for assistance with historic photos.
Leyba Freed, President, The WHEELS Museum, for her knowledge and time.
Samantha Stierwalt, ABC Security, and Bree Ortiz and Catherine Heyne, City of Albuquerque for arranging access for photography.
Anne Taylor for suggestions for the Learn More for Kids section.
Learn More:
How does a locomotive work? See https://www.trains.com/trn/train-basics/abcs-of-railroading/how-a-steam-locomotive-works/
Current Activities at the Rail Yards:
https://www.cabq.gov/railyards/activities-at-rail-yards
Plans for the Future:
https://www.cabq.gov/railyards/redevelopment
https://www.cabq.gov/planning/documents/abq-rail-yards-redevelopment-evaluation-2019-08-final.pdf
Historic Information:
2012 Dodge, William A., “Historic and Architectural Resources of Central Albuquerque, 1880-1970.” National Register of Historic Places, Multiple Property Documentation Form:
Learn More for Kids:
“How to Build a Small Train Layout in 60 Seconds”; You Tube, by Steves Trains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRPQThr_yGQ
2023 Coiley, John, Train, DK Children, New York, https://www.dk.com/us/book/9780744077506-the-train-book/
2016 Editors, The Big Book of Trains, DK Children, New York
https://www.dk.com/us/book/9781465453617-the-big-book-of-trains/
2011 Shields, Amy, Trains, National Geographic Society, New York
11/11/23
The Guide to New Mexico Architecture 
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