The Land of Enchantment
An eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief sprints through the ghost town of Colmor, New Mexico, at 79 MPH. A long lens accentuates the rise and fall, as well as the curvature, of the jointed rail line.
The semaphores at the west end of the siding have been replaced by color light signals since I was last here, but a trio still guard the east end. Most of the semaphores, built by the Union Switch & Signal Company a hundred years ago, have come down in the last year or two. The ones still here, at least eleven of them, are the last of their kind operating in the United States.
The name of the town is a portmanteau word—formed by taking three letters from the counties on either side of the border on which the town sits (Colfax and Mora). While not seen in my images, there are some tumbledown structures here and there on either side of the railroad. Several hundred people once lived here.
Two images by Richard Koenig; taken April 26th 2023.
