With the snow-covered Rockies shining brightly in the distance, Amtrak’s Southwest Limited curves around the iconic Wootton Ranch. This was the one-time home of Richens “Uncle Dick” Wootton, who built a 27-mile toll road over Raton Pass shortly after the Civil War. At this site, his ranch acted as a toll booth and stagecoach stop, where passengers could get a meal. Tolls were $1.50 for a wagon, $0.25 for a horseman, and Native Americans were allowed to use the road free of charge. In 1878, Wootton sold the right of way to the Santa Fe, who quickly laid its tracks over the route, which used switchbacks near the summit until a tunnel could be bored.
The 1908 completion of the Belen Cutoff resulted in most transcontinental freight being transferred to that route, reducing traffic over Raton Pass to mostly locals and passenger trains. The innovation of intermodal trains added a few of these relatively light consists to the line in the 1960’s. Today, this location may very well see a percentage of Amtrak trains almost as high as the NEC.
