Examine Albuquerque's history of trains and multicultural growth in this new book. Photograph by Inga Hendrickson.
ESTABLISHED IN 1915, THE ALBUQUERQUE RAIL YARDS sprawl across nearly 30 acres south of downtown and once employed up to a quarter of the city’s workforce. Since 1970, they’ve stood hauntingly silent, the focus of starry-eyed dreams for redevelopment. Overhaul: A Social History of the Albuquerque Locomotive Repair Shops (UNM Press), by noted historians Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint, engages readers in more than a local history of trains and tracks. In these pages, a story emerges about Albuquerque’s multicultural growth spurt during the 20th century. May it deepen people’s respect for these buildings and spur our resolve to save them.
Read More: A photographic tale of New Mexico's past through architecture, history, and ghost towns.