Question Asked about "Railroad that used to run through the caverns"

Dear Ms. ____:

I received this information request from you recently and would like to answer it --

I was told that there was a railroad that use to run through the caverns from around 1904-1912. Does anyone have any knowledge of this? My grandmother was a young girl at that time and stated that the railroad went through the caverns. Any information would be appreciated. ____

From the 1957 book One Man's Dream: the Story of Jim White Discoverer and Explorer of the Carlsbad Caverns written by Ruth Caiar (the sister-in-law to Jim White, Jr.), I have copied this excerpt for you:

It was 1903 before Long was able to begin operation in the cave. He had filed a placer mining claim to the guano and other mineral rights for twenty acres around the entrance of the cave. When everything was in readiness, Long offered Jim a job as foreman. Jim accepted without hesitation for, not only would the job afford him the pleasure of being near the big cave, it might also offer the opportunity of interesting someone in its scenic beauty. Jim, as well as the other workmen, knew but little of guano mining, but they all learned fast and soon had things humming.

First they sunk a shaft not far from the cave entrance, and then they were ready for the actual mining. They shoveled the guano into gunny sacks, sewed them up and loaded them on to miniature flat cars which they themselves had built. The cars ran on rails constructed of two-by-fours, and were drawn to the bottom of the shaft by a whim that Jim had rigged up from an old wagon axle. Next they were loaded into a large iron bucket and hoisted to the surface by means of a gasoline winch. They were then loaded on wagons and hauled to the Carlsbad freight yard to be shipped west to California. This trip usually took two days since much of the thirty miles to Carlsbad consisted of mountainous country. Mules were used to pull the wagons since they seemed stronger and more sure footed than horses. It was in this manner that the first rough, trail-like road was built leading to the Caverns.

It is estimated that about one hundred thousand tons of guano were removed for the cave during the next twenty years, but it was probably not a very profitable operation for about seven different companies had a fling at it. Jim worked for all of them and, when operations were finally suspended in the early Twenties, he was kept on in the capacity of watchman.

These tracks and cars must be what your grandmother was referring to. If you are interested in reading more of this informative book, there is a link to it on-line at:
http://carlsbadcavernshistory.blogspot.com/

Just click the link on the September 18, 2007 post.

Please let me know if I might help you with other information. Note: the picture above is of the guano mining camp at the caverns in the early 1900's. Thanks for your interest in Caverns history.

Sincerely,

Bob Hoff
CAVE Volunteer-in-the-Park
Retired CAVE Park Historian

One Man's Dream: The Story of Jim White Discoverer and Explorer of the Carlsbad Caverns

For people who have a strong interest in the story of Jim White and the Carlsbad Caverns, it sometimes oocurs to them (as it has occurred to me)that it would have really been nice if Jim White himself had been able to tell and write his own story rather than having to rely on writers who had their own motivations and understandings of White's experiences.

For me, this book is the cloest document that posterity has of Jim White's voice. Not that he was was around in 1957 when it was published (he passed away in 1946), but the author, Ruth Caiar, was the sister-in-law, to Jim White's son: Jim White, Jr.

In the "Acknowledgements" section, author Caiar thanks Mrs. Jim (Fannie) White, Sr., and Mrs. Etienne de P. Bujac, whose lawyer husband labored so hard, though in vain, to get Jim his position back in the National Park Service. This was the chief guide position that White resigned for health reasons in 1929 probably under the mistaken notion that another caverns position would be forthcoming. She also acknowledges other friends of Jim White like Judge Sam G. Bratton, New Mexico Senator Dennis Chavez, Major Richard Burges of El Paso and Judge E.S. Shattuck, among others. These were some of the people closest to Jim White, Sr., people who knew him and what he had accomplished in the years that he was associated with the caverns.

This book is in a sense the White family's explanationof their frustration because of Jim White's ill treatment from the National Park Service in the later years of Jim's relationship with the NPS. The White family's disappointments are supported by the historical record, and in retrospect, I for one, am surprised that the NPS wasn't kinder to the man who had done so much at the caverns.

For me, the chink(s) in White's personal armor were far outweighed by his contributions. I don't understand the thinking of the NPS individuals who sought to marginalize Jim White.

Click here for an on-line copy of this book.

One Man's Dream

To return to Caverns History Blog from One Man's Dream document, click on left blue arrow at the top of the browser.