Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe HO Scale Models

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was chartered in February 1859 with the stated purpose of connecting the Kansas cities of Atchison and Topeka with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Construction proceeded gradually across the plains, with the railroad reaching the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, by 1876. Despite the promise of its name, the railroad ultimately bypassed the city of Santa Fe due to the formidable terrain surrounding it, instead building a short branch line from Lamy, New Mexico, in 1880 to cover the final twenty miles into town. That same year the railroad extended its reach westward by acquiring control of the western portion of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, gaining access to Arizona and California. The Chicago and St. Louis Railway was absorbed in 1887, completing a through route from Chicago to Los Angeles and establishing the Santa Fe as one of the most strategically positioned railroads in the country. Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Santa Fe continued expanding its network through a combination of new construction and acquisitions. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway came under its control in 1887, providing entry into Texas, while the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway was purchased in 1891 to reach San Francisco. A branch to the Grand Canyon was completed in 1901, and the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway was acquired in 1911, adding a Phoenix connection. In 1928 the railroad absorbed the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, extending its reach into the southern plains. By the mid-twentieth century the system encompassed principal routes through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California, with major shop facilities at Topeka, Albuquerque, San Bernardino, and Cleburne, Texas. The railroad gained considerable public recognition for the quality of its passenger services, operating celebrated named trains across its Chicago to Los Angeles corridor. It was also a pioneer in intermodal freight operations and at various points in its history operated ancillary services including a bus line, ferryboats on San Francisco Bay, and briefly an airline known as Santa Fe Skyway. In the early 1980s the Santa Fe entered merger discussions with the Southern Pacific, and in December 1983 the two companies announced a proposed combination. The Interstate Commerce Commission rejected the merger on grounds that it would eliminate too much competition along parallel routes, leaving both carriers to continue independently. Following the failed Southern Pacific combination, the Santa Fe eventually entered into negotiations with Burlington Northern Railroad. The two companies announced their merger on September 22, 1995, and formally operated as a unified enterprise beginning January 1, 1997, under the name Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, later rebranded as BNSF Railway. The ATSF reporting mark was retired along with the railroad's independent corporate identity, though the Santa Fe name and its distinctive red and silver warbonnet paint scheme remained influential in the culture of American railroading. BNSF went on to become one of the two largest freight railroads in North America, a direct legacy of the Santa Fe's extensive western network.