Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft (2,388 m) elevation mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border in the western United States. It is located on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico, approximately 180 miles (290 km) northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe. ''Ratón'' is Spanish for "mouse". The pass crosses the line of volcanic mesas that extends east from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the state line, and furnishes the most direct land route between the valley of the Arkansas River to the north and the upper valley of the Canadian River, leading toward Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe, to the south. The pass now carries Interstate 25 and railroad tracks. The pass is a historically significant landmark on the Santa Fe Trail, a major 19th-century settlement route between Kansas City, Missouri and Santa Fe. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for this association.

History

In 1821, Captain William Becknell laid the path of the Santa Fe Trail through the pass. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War, Stephen W. Kearny and his troops passed through the pass en route to New Mexico. During the Civil War, it was the primary path into New Mexico since it avoided Confederate States Army, Confederate raiders. It was later developed into a toll road by Richens Lacey Wootton.

Railroad route

In the late 19th century, Raton Pass was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's (AT&SF) primary route through the mountains. Along with Royal Gorge in Colorado, the pass was one of the focal points for the 1878–79 Railroad Wars between the AT&SF and the smaller Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The route over the pass has grade (slope), gradients of up to 3.5% and a tunnel at its highest point, above sea level. The tunnel is in New Mexico, but just barely so, with its northern portal lying only a few feet south of the Colorado border. The route is now owned by BNSF Railway, BNSF, which absorbed the AT&SF in 1996. While it is still used by Amtrak's Chicago Union Station, Chicago–Los Angeles Union Station, Los Angeles ''Southwest Chief'', freight traffic shifted from Raton Pass to the Southern Transcon#History, Belen Cutoff (1908), whose gradients do not exceed 1.25%. As a result, with Raton Pass having little to no freight traffic, BNSF said in 2012 that they could not justify maintenance of the route to Amtrak's standards between La Junta, Colorado, and Lamy, New Mexico, placing the future of rail transportation over the pass in jeopardy.Colorado State Legislature, Preserve & Expand Amtrak Interstate Rail Service
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Highway route

In the 20th century, the pass was used as the route of U.S. Route 85 and, later, Interstate 25 in Colorado, Interstate 25 between Denver, Colorado, Denver and Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque. At above sea level, the highway is subject to difficult driving conditions and occasional closures during heavy winter snowfalls.

In popular culture

The pass was part of a Townes Van Zandt song "Snowin' on Raton". During a live performance, Townes commented how he liked playing a show in Colorado because he didn't have to explain what Raton was. The 1951 western movie ''Raton Pass (film), Raton Pass'' stars Academy Award actress Patricia Neal. Raton Pass is mentioned in C. W. McCall's (Bill Fries) song "Four Wheel Cowboy", from his album Wilderness (C. W. McCall album), Wilderness. "Four Wheel Cowboy" also appears on his compilation release, titled "The Best of C. W. McCall". Clint Black makes reference to the Raton Pass in the song "The Goodnight-Loving" from the album "Put Yourself in My Shoes." :Ridin' against the wind in east New Mexico, :His skin is dry and worn as the Texas plains. :He's headed where the air is thin and the cold blue northers blow, :Up through the Raton Pass, but he'll have to beat the early snow, In the 1951 Randolph Scott film ''Santa Fe (film), Santa Fe'' there is a part about how the Santa Fe railroad acquired Raton Pass for the use of the rail road.

Gallery

File:Raton Pass 1.jpg, Amtrak's Southwest Chief entering the north end of the tunnel File:Raton Pass 2.jpg, Sign marking the elevation of the Raton Pass tunnel

References

External links

Raton Tunnel
*[http://www.rrsignals.net/Atsf/NewMexico/Raton.htm ''Raton Line: The Original Santa Fe Transcontinental''], a railroad history of Raton Pass {{Authority control Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Landforms of Las Animas County, Colorado Interstate 25 Landforms of Colfax County, New Mexico Mountain passes of Colorado Mountain passes of New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in Colorado National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Rail mountain passes of the United States Santa Fe Trail Transportation in Colfax County, New Mexico Transportation in Las Animas County, Colorado Raton, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Colfax County, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Las Animas County, Colorado