Amtrak's Southwest Chief, train No3 bound for Los Angeles from Chicago polishes the rails at Wagon Mound, New Mexico on May 2, 2019. The famous semaphores of the region have yet again been placed on the desk of discussion in recent months as to when they'll succumb to the hand of modernization although this technology of nearly 90 to 100 years is still getting the job done. If one looks around just a slight bit on the Chief's route between Albuquerque and Trinidad you'll find this section of intriguing railroad is just about a virtual museum Amtrak is operating on. From the famed semaphores to rail dating from 1945, the end of WWll, date nails on active sections of 79mph jointed rail. It's enough to keep the mind wondering as to what it would've been like to see those solid sets of F units running 100 with the El Capitan or even the last days of steam operations.
