On our way to Magdalena from Pecos, we will pass through a couple of towns. Next up, is Sanderson. Now to kind of understand a model for what B. Smith is doing in Sanderson, you may want to read the recent Pecos Vally Southern series. Click here to read part I.
Here is my favorite quote from the series–
“Out in the middle of nowhere, a single car to pick up, light rail, little ballast, just laid back easy going railroading.”–B. Smith
Sanderson is all about what I think is the golden era of railroading–late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. Sanderson gives B. Smith a chance to connect with a type of railroading that he initially fell in love with–Alco, F units, 40-foot boxcars, cabooses and lots of road names. He occasionally will even break out some steam when the owner of the line is nostalgic.
Here is a close up of the track plan for Sanderson–
Here is an overview–
Here’s another overview–
Let’s check out some of the individual businesses.
Above is Lazy W Ranch (where the MP hopper is spotted) and RJ Fuels. Lazy W Ranch also leases the old LCN station to receive shipments usually by boxcar and has a small molasses operation to the right of the station. The Lazy W Ranch is a big ranch and generates some rail traffic, but it also supplements its profits by selling feed, molasses and receiving goods for other ranches in the area.
Below is an image of the Lazy W Ranch molasses receiving facility.
Below we see some feed being unloaded for the Lazy W Ranch.
The team track down from Lazy W also sees some action. Below we see another area ranch receiving feed.
Below we see the highway department receiving some asphalt for an upcoming project.
Here is Western Wool and Mohair at the end of a long spur on the edge of Sanderson. It is a regular customer for receiving bagged feed. Occasional shipments of wool still depart by rail as well. This is one of my favorite shippers on the layout.
On the same spur as Western Wool and Mohair is a Safeway warehouse. This business was inspired by this story.
Lava Rock is a fairly frequent shipper. Here we see a scene when the LCN has fired up the old steam engine to run the line.
I love this little town set in the late 1960s/early1970s.
It alone is a lot of fun to operate.