NEW MEXICO HISTORY MUSEUM

113 Lincoln Ave., 505-476-5200, nmhistorymuseum.org

Rail realities

Songs and movies depicting the romance of rail travel tell only part of the story of this iron-forged transportation innovation. Less frequently examined is the underbelly of the beast, billowing smoke and blasting its whistle to proclaim its presence. Behind the scenes was backbreaking labor. Railroad crews blew up mountains to carve out tunnels, hammered spikes into hard soil and laid rails over rugged terrain to keep massive engines chugging across the continent. Working on the Railroad tells the backstory. Period photographs and artifacts show the crews at work, faces blackened by soot and sweat. The workers ranged from steel gang laborers to machinists, electricians to ditch diggers. Immigrants from China, Europe and Mexico, along with North American-born laborers, formed an integrated, international workforce that included women. Says a former train factory worker in an exhibit video, “We did the work that no one else wanted.” Another says with pride, “It’s amazing what we made starting with a pile of steel.” The exhibit runs through Oct. 18, 2021.