Railroad Days kicks off Thursday in Las Cruces
By S. Derrickson Moore dmoore@lcsun-news.com
A celebration of the Santa Fe Depot’s 100th birthday, a visit from the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, model trains, activities for kids, re-enactments and an Old West Medicine Show will be highlights of the third annual Railroad Days.
The celebration runs Thursday through Saturday at the Las Cruces Railroad Museum, 351 N. Mesilla St.
The festivities “celebrate Las Cruces’ railroading past, present, and future,” said Rebecca Slaughter, the museum’s assistant manager.
The three-day event will include special days for seniors Thursday and for student groups Friday.
“Community Day on Saturday will start with a dedication and welcome ceremony at 10 a.m. to celebrate the depot’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places and to welcome our newest acquisition, a 1909 wooden caboose,” Slaughter said.
The bright red caboose, which arrived April 8, was donated by Sean and Susan Acrey, of Southland, Texas.
“We’re so glad to know it’s gone to a place where it will have educational benefits,” said Susan Acrey, who plans to travel to Las Cruces to see the new home of her caboose, which has been in the family’s possession since 1969.
“It was originally built for the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, a part of the Burlington Railroad family, and we think it was first put into service between 1909 and 1911 and ended its career on the rails in Lubbock, Texas, on an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line,” said Julia Hansen, volunteer coordinator for Las Cruces city museums.
The festivities will include Harvey Girl re-enactors from the Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso, an Old West Medicine Show and a one-act play about the orphan trains that helped find homes for an estimated 200,000 homeless children between 1854 and 1929. Also featured will be New Mexico’s “Van of Enchantment” with historical transportation exhibits, plus food and education booths and a performance by the Vista Vibrations Bell Choir.
Model trains will be running and visitors can check out the Do-a Ana Modular Railroad Club’s diorama of a small village inspired by Las Cruces in the 1950s.
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express will be available Saturday for tours, but noy rides.
Admission is free to Railroad Days events and the museum. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. For information call (575) 647-4480 or visit http://museums.las-cruces.org.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575)541-5450.
Railroad Days
• Where: Las Cruces Railroad Museum, Santa Fe Depot, 351 N. Mesilla St.
• When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday
• Cost: Free admission
• Information: (575) 647-4480
Schedule
Thursday-Saturday
• Do-a Ana Modular Railroad Club model train layouts. Van of Enchantment history exhibit, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursday
• Senior Citizens Appreciation Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday
• Students’ Day, Education Station, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Community Day Saturday
• 10 a.m. Dedication and Welcome Ceremony
• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. New Mexico Rail Runner Express Tours (no rides)
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Harvey Girl and Historical Conductor Re-enactors, Food and Information Booths, Education Station
• 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Old West Medicine Show
• 1 p.m. A Children’s Theatre of the Mesilla Valley
• 2 p.m. Vista Vibrations Bell Choir
Key dates
1881: The first Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe AT&SF train arrived in Las Cruces on April 26. Regular passenger started in June.
1910: AT&SF expanded their operations and built a new depot in Las Cruces.
1960s: Passenger service continued from the Santa Fe Depot until 1968.
1988: The Santa Fe Railroad decided to close the depot in Las Cruces.
1992: City of Las Cruces purchased the depot.
2000: Depot opened as a museum with limited hours.
December 2007: Las Cruces Railroad Museum opened with regular hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.
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