The Rock Island Rail Trail

The Choctaw Rocket was a luxury train that once travelled
between Memphis, Tennessee and Tucumcari, New Mexico. 

Once upon a time, the Rock Island Railroad used to travel between Tucumcari and Amarillo. It shut down in the early 80’s, but the Right-of-Way (ROW) is still there.
If you look at Google Maps, in satellite mode, you can see where it parts from the existing Union Pacific tracks, just northeast of Tucumcari (northeast of the lake), not far from Route 54.
The right of way seems almost entirely intact from there to the tunnel under I-40, a distance of about 3 miles. The Tucumcari area could use some more hiking trails and the old ROW looks like just the spot.
There are several advantages to rail trails. For one, they combine history with outdoor recreation. Railroad lines are graded to be as flat as possible, meaning a large portion of the population can walk the trail with ease. They are already partially constructed. Trails, by law, can revert to railroad use, if need be. Rail trails have proved to be enormously popular throughout the country, not only providing recreation, but economic stimulus to local businesses.
For more information, check out the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Highlights of the trail could include the Tucumcari Wildlife Management Area
and this tunnel.

Tucumcari's Railroad Tunnel

 

(Sixgun Siding) There aren't many tunnels on the Southern Plains, but Tucumcari has one, just east of town. It was built to give the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad a way out of town, once Interstate Forty was built over its right of way. You can argue that it's an underpass, but the length of the thing, going under the road at an oblique angle, makes it more like a tunnel than not. Legend has it that the Rock Island went belly-up the day after the tunnel was opened and only one train ever officially used it.

Tucumcari Switches

Union Pacific Tucumcari Line: MP 630

Tucumcari Railroad Days This Weekend

(Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce) Traveling photo display, railroad artifacts, refinished Locomotive Control Stand, Locomotive Play Station, active Model Train Clubs, on the mainline of the UP- great place to view passing trains. Free Admission Saturday 9AM-5PM Link

Event to highlight Tucumcari’s railroad history

Leaving Tucumcari

(Quay County Sun) The history of the railroad will come alive with working model train displays as well as visual and static displays Saturday and Sunday during the Tucumcari Railroad Days at the Historic Train Depot in Tucumcari.
Railroad Days is a collaborative effort among the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, Tucumcari Main Street and the Tucumcari Railroad Museum, said Connie Loveland, railroad museum board member.
Loveland said the entities wanted to hold an event for locals and tourists that would bring the history of the historic Rock Island/Southern Pacific Railroad Depot to life. She said this event is free for all to attend and will feature well over 100 items that tell of the past and of the present railroad in Tucumcari. Continued

Massey Building, next to Tucumcari train station