Cerrillos Coal Railroad Co. - Territory of New Mexico - 1890's dated Unissued Railway Stock Certificate - Branch Line of the Atchison Topeka Santa Fe Railway
Inv# AT102 Stock
Unissued Railway Stock. We have never seen a fully issued example.
The Cerrillos Coal Railroad, a 6.5-mile spur line built in 1892, played a pivotal role in transporting coal from the mines in what would become Madrid, New Mexico, to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (AT&SF) main line. Named after the nearby Cerrillos mining district, this railway was a crucial piece of infrastructure that facilitated the large-scale production and shipment of both bituminous and anthracite coal. The AT&SF subsidiary, the Cerrillos Coal and Iron Company, founded the town of Madrid, which quickly blossomed into a bustling company town of 2,500 people during its peak. The railroad’s arrival transformed the area, which had experienced intermittent mining since the mid-1800s, into the oldest industrial coal mining region in New Mexico.
The railroad’s influence extended to the growth and eventual decline of Madrid as a company town. After the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company took over operations in 1906, the railroad continued to be a vital link for shipping its coal, which was used for heating and powering steam locomotives. However, the demand for coal began to plummet after World War II, as natural gas replaced coal for heating, and diesel engines superseded steam locomotives. By 1954, the mines in Madrid had closed, and the railroad spur was subsequently removed, leading to the town’s near-abandonment. The dismantling of the Cerrillos Coal Railroad marked the end of Madrid’s industrial era, yet the former mining town later underwent a revival as an artists’ community.
This is a branch line of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), commonly known as the Santa Fe or AT&SF. Established in February 1859, the ATSF was one of the prominent railroads in the United States. Its primary mission was to connect the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. By 1873, the railroad had expanded its reach to the Kansas-Colorado border, and in 1876, it had reached Pueblo, Colorado. To generate demand for its services, the ATSF strategically established real estate offices and sold farmland acquired through land grants granted by Congress.
A stock certificate is issued by businesses, usually companies. A stock is part of the permanent finance of a business. Normally, they are never repaid, and the investor can recover his/her money only by selling to another investor. Most stocks, or also called shares, earn dividends, at the business's discretion, depending on how well it has traded. A stockholder or shareholder is a part-owner of the business that issued the stock certificates.
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