The Albuquerque Eastern Railway, sometimes called the Albuquerque Eastern Railroad,[1] was chartered July 22, 1901,[2] by the same parties interested in the Santa Fe Central Railway which was completed in 1903 between a rail junction at Torrance, New Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
[3][4] The plan was for the Albuquerque Eastern to branch from the Santa Fe Central at Moriarty, New Mexico and run 43 miles west through the Tijeras Pass to Albuquerque.
[4] The entire line was graded with a railbed, however, construction was halted in 1905 after only the first 8 miles of track out of Moriarty had been built, due to the Comptroller of the Currency closing the doors of the bank financing the construction.
[4][3] Other routes were surveyed, including a branch running northwest toward the coalfields around Hagan, New Mexico and on to Algodones or San Felipe; but, none were brought to fruition.
[4][5] The Albuquerque Eastern was consolidated with the Santa Fe Central in 1908 to form the New Mexico Central Railroad.