greatcats
Engineer
I have been through Lamy on the train several times and will be on the Southwest Chief eastbound from Flagstaff on April 7 and will pass through Lamy. At the moment I am driving around New Mexico, having just spent three nights in Santa Fe and am now in Taos, headed to Chaco Canyon. I decided to go down and have a close look at Lamy station. I had thought it was maybe five miles from downtown; it is more like twenty. It was a fascinating stop in this small village where the paved road ends at the train station. It is sort of an eclectic residential area and there are two open businesses, the Amtrak ticket office, and the adjacent restaurant in the Atlantic Coast Line dining car. I had had lunch up the road, but got to talking with the owner and chef, Michael Ginvert, who is very into trains. He was interesting to talk to and how he feels about living in New Mexico, which I feel is very different from Arizona, so Ihad dessert in the dining car, which was used by Amtrak in the 70's. The station building is 120 years old and is in need of some repair on the exterior. The inside is attractive and cozy and in good repair, with remodeled restrooms. The tourist train that runs on the forlorn looking branch line was not operating, due to a recent derailment.
The historic station with the brick platforms and picnic area where a Mary Colter designed Fred Harvey hotel operated from 1910 to 1943, the trees and the surrounding terrain make for a movie scene out of the old west, which indeed it has been used for. Both Amtrak trains passed through while I was there - the eastbound was a little late and pulled in first, while the westbound waited on a siding east of the station and then pulled in on the second platform, which required a double stop. Business for both trains seemed to be fairly busy, with quite a number of passengers getting off the westbound sleepers.
The historic station with the brick platforms and picnic area where a Mary Colter designed Fred Harvey hotel operated from 1910 to 1943, the trees and the surrounding terrain make for a movie scene out of the old west, which indeed it has been used for. Both Amtrak trains passed through while I was there - the eastbound was a little late and pulled in first, while the westbound waited on a siding east of the station and then pulled in on the second platform, which required a double stop. Business for both trains seemed to be fairly busy, with quite a number of passengers getting off the westbound sleepers.