SANTA FE LIVE STOCK OPERATIONS, HISTORY, EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES AND MODELING/Sandifer
IN STOCK AND SHIPPING
By J. Stephen Sandifer. Before The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe drove its first spike, it was understood that livestock shipping would be critical to its success. One of the first actions was to intercept the Chisholm Trail, 65 miles south of Abilene near Newton, where over 40,000 head were shipped in 1871. By the end of 1872, most of the rail cars owned by Santa Fe were stock cars. As Santa Fe continued to move west, it caught more cattle at Great Bend, Dodge City, and Granada, Colorado. In 1884, Santa Fe shipped 800,000 head of cattle from Dodge City alone. The railroad maintained a Live Stock Department catering to cattlemen, ranchers and packers. But live animals were a trouble to ship. Damage claims were higher than any other commodity, and government regulations were stronger. Livestock shipping peaked in the 1920s, but by 1930 things had begun to change. Trucks proved to be more convenient and often faster transportation for small shippers and short distances. In the end, Santa Fe loaded just 62 cars of stock in 1972, the last year of livestock operations. But for over a century, livestock, birds, fish, and many other animals went on Santa Fe. Painstakingly researched and liberally illustrated, this is the story of Santa Fe’s livestock operations, from its history to equipment, to infrastructures—such as stockyards and feeding stations required to maintain the business. Along the way, this volume touches on the rules and regulations governing the traffic, rodeo and circus trains, and Railway Express shipping, as well as modeling this fascinating part of Santa Fe’s legacy. This book combines features of both the rolling stock reference series and the commodity series. 256 pages 11×8½ soft cover, over 300 over 300 black & white photos and diagrams and over 140 color photos, appendix, roster, plus modelers notes.
List price $65.00, softcover, b&w and color photos, 256 pages. SKU: BSFSTOCK, Posted July 28, 2019.
