Track laying preparation to drive last spike on Santa Fe Central Railway, 1903. Photo by C.G. Kaadt. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive (NMHM/DCA), neg. no. 014193
Unidentified group of railroad workers, New Mexico, ca. 1900. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive (NMHM/DCA), neg. no. 144580NMHM News:
SANTA FE ― They came from all over, and through back-breaking manual labor, railroad workers transformed the United States and impacted millions of lives.
When the railroad came to New Mexico in 1879, it brought thousands of job opportunities for local people from rural villages, reservations, and larger towns. In addition to the homegrown workforce, the railroad also brought immigrant Chinese, European, and Mexican laborers to New Mexico.
On a national scale, by the time women were granted the vote under the 19th Amendment in 1920, one out of every 50 citizens worked for the railroad; this number increased exponentially during the U.S. involvement in World War II.
A new exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum entitled Working on the Railroad pays tribute to the people who moved the rail industry throughout New Mexico. Using nearly 40 images from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives and the Library of Congress, this exhibition offers an in-depth look at the men and women who did everything from laying track to dispatching the engines.
Working on the Railroad tells another side of New Mexico’s locomotive history that makes no mention of passenger trains or tourism; visitors will leave the exhibition with a greater appreciation of the difficulty of this work. All workers are represented – women, people of color, immigrants, young and old – and most jobs are represented, both on and off the tracks.
From steel gangs to machinists and car cleaners to conductors, every role in the railroad industry served an important purpose. Wrenches, lanterns, tie dating nails and other objects from the New Mexico History Museum collections will be displayed to give additional life to the photos; many hands used those tools to ensure that each engine ran smoothly and successfully.
Opening Oct. 18 and running through a date to be determined in 2021. Working on the Railroad is featured in the Mezzanine Gallery of the History Museum near the Fred Harvey installation at 113 Lincoln Ave. in Santa Fe.
