Albuquerque

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The Railrunner

I saw a picture of a commuter train set of the Railrunner in a diesel locomotive field guide a MotivePower MPI MP36PH-3C in fact.

What stood out was the stunning paint job on the locomotive and cars. This New Mexico train travels between the state capital of Santa Fe to Albuquerque.

A Railrunner at the Santa Fe Depot.

The locomotive and three cars are painted a light silver with a tribal (southwestern) red and yellow roadrunner blazed on its sides, its tail continuing on through the cars. (Locals give the train the moniker the Snailrunner).

The paragon of diesel passenger service livery has to be Santa Fe’s Super Chief’s Warbonnet paint scheme (covered in a previous post). The red and yellow of the Railrunner reaches back to this iconic paint scheme.

Once I pulled into my Santa Fe digs, I quickly unpacked and headed to the Railyard District which was a ten minute walk.

I wanted to get some dinner and sketch the Railrunner at the historic Santa Fe Depot.

As an extra bonus the Sky Train was getting ready to back into its six car consist.

Sky Trail on the left with the Railrunner to the right, in front of the Santa Fe Depot.
The livery looks stunning in the Santa Fe morning light. I did a continuous-line sketch of the locomotive with the road runner (featured sketch).
A pre-trip sketch and the real deal.
My last encounter of the trip with the Railrunner, on my way from Chama to Albuquerque. The line parallels Highway 25 for a bit. This train is heading to Santa Fe. It actually traveling the opposite direction.
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Mapping New Mexico

For my early October fall break I decided to spend the week in New Mexico.

The last time I set foot in the state, or lay down in it, was a visit to Four Corners on a road trip with my family. So my last and only visit was fleeting.

As is my usual routine I sketch a map of the state with my intended travel destinations with round vignettes of sight I hoped to see and sketch (featured sketch).

These include the Taos Pueblo, the Cumbres &Toltec Scenic Railroad, the Railyard District in Santa Fe, Canyon Road arts district also in Santa Fe, San Francisco de Asis Church in Taos, my digs in Santa Fe, Tent Rocks National Monument, Scandinavia Peak Tramway, and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

Side view of the famous Santa Fe F7 Super Chief in its Warbonnet (red, yellow, and silver) livery.