(Source: Smithsonian Magazine, June 24, 2021)
The Santa Fe tried to choose routes that would generate the traffic to cover construction costs, and it selected sites that were likely to grow after the rail arrived. The company acquired open land at low cost—and then sold it at a nice markup after the rail line enhanced the land’s value. Railroad executives chose the town site, laid out squared-off streets, and often ran their tracks down the middle to create a “right” side (with respectable businesses) and a “wrong” side (with the saloons). It placed its railroad station in the center of town. Unlike the hell-on-wheels towns, Albuquerque and El Paso were built to last.
Full story: Smithsonian Magazine