Amtrak train #3 flies down the former Santa Fe towards Albuquerque, NM. Seen here passing history on a pole, the Southwest Chief doesn't mess around. Also note, the westbound semaphore for the mainline is in the process of dropping to it's stop indication due to the train in the block. In the wide open desert shown here, the train is motoring at about 79 MPH until Las Vegas where the train will re-enter hilly territory.
For a line that doesn't see freight anymore, I was happy to have shot what I could while I was in the area. Without the information taught to me about the line, signals, and two trains by great friends, none of this would've been possible. If time and money ever allows, I will be back out here before the nearly 100 year old semaphores are completely gone.
Photos showing the railroad pole lines. The pole line used four basic electrical circuits - telegraph, telephone, signaling, and power. Modern technologies of fiber optics, microwave, radio, satellite, and computers have been replacing the pole lines.
