Santa Fe Live Stock Operations: History, Equipment, Facilities and Modeling

How I wish this detailed look at Santa Fe Railway's Live Stock service was done about other railroads which operated in Santa Fe's territory. Much research went into this book with equipment rosters, many pictures in Black and White and Color, facility locations and capacity, and modeler's notes plus more. Included are interior photographs of a drover's car from 1931.

Before The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe drove its first spike, it was understood that the shipping of live stock would be critical to its success. One of the first actions was to intercept the Chisholm Trail, 65 miles south of Abilene near Newton, Kansas where over 40,000 head were shipped in 1871. By the end of the 1872 the majority of the rail cars owned by Santa Fe were stock cars. As the Santa Fe continued to expand west, it loaded more cattle at Great Bend and Dodge City, Kansas 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 troublesome to ship. Damage and Loss claims were higher than any other commodity, and government regulations were more extensive. The shipping of live stock 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 for short distances. In the end, Santa Fe loaded just 62 cars of stock in 1972, the last year of live stock operations. But for over a century, live stock, birds, fish, and a myriad of other animals went on Santa Fe - all the way.

Painstakingly researched and liberally illustrated, this is the story of Santa Fe's live stock operations, from its history, to equipment, to infrastructure-such as stock yards 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, 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.

Contents:
A History of Live Stock and the Santa Fe, pp. 7-8,
Operations, pp. 9-14,
The Rules, pp. 15-34,
Damage Claims, pp. 35-52,
Santa Fe Stock Car Overview, pp. 53-58,
Various Classes of Santa Fe Stock Cars, pp. 59-140,
Cleaning and Bedding, pp. 141-146,
Drover Cars, pp. 147-156,
Not Just for Live Stock, pp. 157-170,
Horses, Railway Express and Other Critters, pp. 171-190,
Company Stock Yards on the Santa Fe, pp. 191-214,
Santa Fe Breeding Stations, pp. 215-230,
Union Stock Yards, pp. 231-238,
Modeler's Notes, pp. 239-245,
Appendix, pp. 246-253,
Bibliography, pp. 254-256

Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society, softcover, 256 pages, standard landscape format, 8.5 x 11 x 1 in., over 300 Black and White photographs and diagrams and over 140 Color photographs, appendix, roster, plus modelers notes.

• New
• Softcover
• J. Stephen Sandifer
• Santa Fe Railway H&M Society