Santa Fe Surviving Water Facilities

Last revised: September 15, 2024
Maintained by Evan Werkema

This list attempts to document surviving Santa Fe water tanks, treatment buildings, and pump houses. The list is arranged by state, and by district and division (as of 1979) within the states. The date column indicates the most recent date the facilities were confirmed to be intact. Dimensions, build dates, and use information is taken from the Santa Fe document Steel Water Tanks, A.T.& S.F. Ry. System (correct to 1/1/1920) in cases where the existing facilities appear to be the ones listed in the document. Facilities are at their original, trackside locations unless otherwise noted. This list is based on individual sightings, and additional sightings, updates, and corrections are always welcome.

Illinois
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Illinois Division, First District
Verona	approx. 24x45 tank	5/15(v)	Last used as part of grain elevator

Kansas
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Selkirk	Hand dug, rock lined well	5/00(h)	Preserved by Wichita County Historical Society
Southern Kansas Division, Third District
Moline	two approx. 24x29 tanks	7/01(k)	part of grain elevator near tracks at Biddle St.
Colorado Division, First District
Syracuse	two 24x60 tanks, treated water, built 1911	7/90	-
Syracuse	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	7/90	-
Colorado Division, Cimarron Valley District
Hugoton	approx. 24x43 tank with conical roof	8/91	West of town on private property. Once had tank-mounted spout.
Plains Division, Englewood District
Sawyer	brick pumphouse	10/99(b)	-
Belvidere	approx. 24x29 tank	5/15(t)	Wooden gauge. Supports municipal water tank.
Wilmore	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1912	5/15(t)	-

Oklahoma
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Colorado Division, Cimarron Valley District
Keyes	approx. 24x29 tank with conical roof	8/91	Once had tank-mounted spout
Plains Division, Second District
Waynoka	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1903	10/99(b)
Plains Division, Altus District
Dill City	brick pumphouse	5/93	-

Texas
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Plains Division, Clinton District
Briscoe	approx. 24x29 tank	1989(a)	-
Briscoe	frame pumphouse, no derrick	1989(a)	-
Plains Division, Alpine District
Tinaja	approx. 24x45 tank	3/06(s)	Once had tank-mounted spout
Tinaja	frame pumphouse	3/06(s)	No derrick
Plata	approx. 24x29 tank	3/06(s)	Once had tank-mounted spout
Northern Division, Sweetwater District
Buffalo Gap	24x60 tank, raw water, built 1910	4/99(c)	Municipal use
Southern Division, Longview District
Kirbyville	approx. 24x43 tank	8/01(l)	Municipal use, photo August 2001 courtesy Mark St. Aubin
Slaton Division, Plainview District
Abernathy	approx. 24x60 tank	1/22	Now part of grain elevator.
Slaton Division, Second District
Slaton	two approx. 24x60 possible railroad tanks	7/23	Part of RSM Co. on Divison St., southeast part of town.
Slaton Division, Ft. Stockton District
Barnhart	KCM&O-style flat-top tank	5/15(k)	-

Colorado
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Colorado Division, Second District
Thatcher	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1902	8/99	-
Trinidad	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	8/99	-
Starkville	approx. 24x60 tank with conical roof	12/93	Now used by community, roof possibly added by them.
Colorado Division, Denver District
Sedalia	24x43 tank with conical roof, raw water, built 1906	8/99	Wooden gauge. Now used by community, roof possibly added by them.

New Mexico
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Colorado Division, Third District
Maxwell	two approx. 24x60 tanks	8/99	On hillside west of track and I-25
Springer	two approx. 24x60 tanks	2012	Municipal use, moved to north end of Summit Ave. northeast of town
Las Vegas	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	7/87	-
Las Vegas	two concrete pumphouses	7/87	-
Colorado Division, Fourth District
Chapelle	24x29 tank, raw water, built 1907	9/24	Once had tank-mounted spout
Ribera	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1903	7/87	Once had tank-mounted spout
Lamy	approx. 24x29 tank	8/99	On hillside east of depot and section house
Domingo	24x60 tank, built 1912	12/84	-
Domingo	unusual small treatment tank	12/84	-
Plains Division, Third District
Texico	24x60 tank, raw water, built 1909	5/15(x)	-
New Mexico Division, Carlsbad District
New Mexico Division, El Paso District
Rincon	12x45 tank, fresh water, built 1907	7/98	-
New Mexico Division, Deming District
Florida	24x45 tank, raw water, built 1916	7/98	-
New Mexico Division, Magdalena District
Water Canyon	approx. 24x29 tank	6/87	Once had tank-mounted spout

Arizona
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Albuquerque Division, Second District
Chambers	approx. 16x43 tank with conical roof, painted silver	8/24	-
Albuquerque Division, Third District
Bellemont	24x60 tank with conical roof, raw water, built 1907	8/24	Photo by Ed Cooper, late 1980's
Albuquerque Division, Kingman District
Pica	approx. 48x60 tank with conical roof	5/15(s)	Mike Brooks photo, November 2005
Pica	16x64 tank, treated water, built 1910	11/05(r)	-
Pica	24x60 tank with conical roof, treated water storage, built 1908	11/05(r)	-
Hackberry	approx. 24x43 tank, painted silver with black emblem	5/15(s)	-
Kingman	two approx. 24x60 tanks	7/98	-
Kingman	"municipal" style water tower	7/98	Beside railroad tanks
Topock	24x43 tank with conical roof, raw water, built 1908	5/15(u)	-
Albuquerque Division, Fourth District
Ash Fork	approx. 48x60 tank with conical roof, painted silver with black emblem	8/24	-
Ash Fork	"municipal" style water tower, painted silver with black emblem	8/24	-
Drake	approx. 24x43 tank with conical roof	1/97	Roof damaged, about half missing
Albuquerque Division, Parker District
Salome	approx. 24x60 tank with conical roof, painted silver	7/98	Once had tank-mounted spout

California
Location	Description	Date	Comments
Los Angeles Division, Parker District
Vidal	approx. 24x43 tank	8/23	Photo by Paul Brown
Rice	approx. 24x43 tank	8/23	-

Some Recent Losses Tanks for the memories...
Location	Description	Approx. Date Removed	Comments
Illinois Division, First District
Stronghurst, IL	24x45 tank with conical roof, treated water storage, built 1906	-	Privately owned. Roof probably added by new owner.
Illinois Division, Fourth District
Henrietta, MO	two approx. 24x60 tanks	2/02(i)	Had been used as grain silos by local elevator.
Plains Division, First District
Argonia, KS	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1909	mid-2004(b)	small portion of tank base remained as of 2015(c)
Attica, KS	two approx. 24x60 tanks	4/05(b)	demolished during double-tracking project
Attica, KS	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	2004(b)
Harper, KS	16x45 tank, treatment	4/05(b)(o)	demolished during double-tracking project
Harper, KS	24x43 tank, service	4/05(b)(o)	demolished during double-tracking project
Harper, KS	approx. 24x60 tank	4/05(b)(o)	demolished during double-tracking project
Harper, KS	1.5 story Powers water treatment plant	4/05(b)(o)	demolished during double-tracking project
Colorado Division, Cimarron Valley District
Elkhart, KS	approx. 24x43 tank with conical roof	gone by 2015	-
Elkhart, KS	standard frame pumphouse	gone by 2009	-
Plains Division, Second District
Woodward, OK	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	2004(b)	demolished during double-tracking project
Shattuck, OK	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	-(b)	-
Higgins, TX	24x43 tank, raw water, built 1909	-(b)	Once had tank-mounted spout
Higgins, TX	concrete pumphouse	-(b)	-
Miami, TX	two approx. 24x60 tanks	2003(b)	demolished during double-tracking project
Miami, TX	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	2003(b)	demolished during double-tracking project
Plains Division, Third District
Hereford, TX	24x60 tank, raw water, built 1914	gone by 2015	-
Black, TX	two approx. 24x43 tanks	gone by mid-2004(q)	-
Black, TX	1.5-story Powers water treatment plant	gone by mid-2004(q)	-
Plains Division, Skellytown District
Skellytown, TX	Horton-style tank	gone by 2009	Had been municipal use, replaced by modern tank.
Skellytown, TX	standard frame pumphouse	gone by 2009	-
Plains Division, Dumas District
Etter, TX	Horton-style tank	gone by 2015(w)	Tank portion was last used for fertilizer storage
Colorado Division, Boise City District
Campo, CO	Horton-style tank	demolished 11/11(w)	-
Campo, CO	frame pumphouse, no derrick	gone by 2024	-
New Mexico Division, First District
Melrose, NM	24x60 tank, combination treatment and storage, built 1907	gone by 2015(s)	-
Negra, NM	24x60 tank, raw water, built 1908	gone by 2015(s)	Photo by Paul Brown
Becker, NM	24x60 tank, combination treatment and storage, built 1908	gone by 1/06(p)	Supported small water tank for nearby ranch
Becker, NM	standard frame pumphouse with addition to rear	gone by 1/06(p)	-
New Mexico Division, Magdalena District
Magdalena, NM	approx. 24x43 tank with conical roof	gone by 2015(c)	-
Albuquerque Division, First District
Dalies, NM	24x60 tank with conical roof, raw water, built 1908	gone by 12/04	-
Grants, NM	approx. 24x60 tank	9/03(n)	Used by perlite plant immediately east of depot, demolished along with the plant.
Albuquerque Division, Kingman District
Seligman, AZ	24x60 tank with conical roof, painted silver with black emblem, built 1903	gone by 2015(c)	-
Seligman	wooden water treatment building(?)	gone by 2015(c)	-
Pica, AZ	concrete water treatment plant	gone by 11/05(r)	-
Yucca, AZ	approx. 24x60 tank	gone by 5/15	-
Yucca, AZ	"municipal" style water tower	gone by 5/15(c)	-
Yucca, AZ	concrete water treatment building	gone by 5/15(c)	-
Los Angeles Division, Needles District
Needles, CA	two 24x60 tanks, painted silver	1986(a)	-
Needles, CA	concrete water treatment building	1986(a)	-
Goffs, CA	approx. 24x60 tank with conical roof, painted silver	11/21/03(m)	-
Goffs, CA	pumphouse, nonstandard design	11/21/03(m)	-
Cadiz, CA	approx. 24x60 tank, painted silver	gone by 2015(c)	Photo by Paul Brown
Valley Division, Porterville-Orosi District
Hillmaid, CA	approx. 24x43 tank with conical roof	gone by 2022	-

Help!!!

Morse, TX: A feed lot southwest of Morse (east side of County Road 7 two miles south of FM-281) has a water tank that looks a lot like a Horton-style tank. Anyone know if this was a Santa Fe water tank relocated from elsewhere(possibly Spearman)? (f)
Ulysses, KS: A Horton style tank stands on the north side of US-160 just west of the Road E intersection about halfway between Johnson City and Ulysses. Anyone know if this was a Santa Fe water tank relocated to this site from elsewhere (possibly Ulysses)?

Thanks!

Letters following the date indicate sightings reported by the following sources and individuals:

a) The Santa Fe Modeler, Vol. 13, No. 1 (1st Quarter 1990).

b) Keel Middleton

c) J. Stephen Sandifer

d) Earl Needham

e) Paul W. Brown

f) Fred Napp

g) Bob Burton

h) Karen Walk

i) Sam Bailey

j) Paul Souter

k) Matt Zebrowski

l) Mark St. Aubin

m) Helen Baker

n) Gary Dunn

o) Ken Leu

p) Stephen Dick

q) Jay Miller

r) Mike Brooks

s) Matt Martin

t) Dave Webb

u) Charles Slater

v) James Brown

w) John Barry

x) Jeff Ford

Send additions/updates to atsf@railfan.net. Provide as much information as possible regarding dimensions and when the facilities were last seen. Thanks!

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Santa Fe Surviving Water Facilities

Illinois

Kansas

Oklahoma

Texas

Colorado

New Mexico

Arizona

California

Some Recent Losses

Help!!!

Thanks!