Entry No. 19 — the Santa Fe file — filed under: mining history
Old Coal Mine Museum
Three acres of an actual company-town coal camp left exactly as the miners abandoned it: rusted headframes, a blacksmith shop, and a genuine 1900 steam locomotive you're invited to climb aboard and ring the bell on. Around the corner, a real exposed underground coal seam lets you touch the anthracite the town was built on.
The story
Before Madrid turned into a strip of roadside galleries along Highway 14, it was a tightly controlled company coal town that abruptly went quiet when the fuel markets shifted. When artists and alternative seekers began moving into the abandoned town around 1982, they didn't sanitize the industrial wreckage. The Old Coal Mine Museum sits on three raw, unpolished acres of that original coal camp, preserved with the cold iron and coal dust right where the miners dropped their tools.
Instead of glass cases and manicured lawns, you get heavy industrial relics decaying under the high-desert sky. The centerpiece is Santa Fe 769, an actual Baldwin steam engine retired around 1954 that sits on a dead-end spur of track. Scattered around its metal hull are rusted headframes, an intact blacksmith shop, an old coal-town theater, and a cut in the rock exposing a raw vein of anthracite—the hard coal seam that funded the entire settlement.
What it's like
Pull off NM-14 directly onto the dirt and gravel surrounding the site. Don't expect docents in matching uniforms or curated audio tours; this is a self-guided wander through open-air industrial ruins. You are encouraged to climb into the cab of the 1900-era locomotive, grab the rope, and ring the iron bell. Duck around the corner to touch the dark, exposed vein of coal sticking out of the earth, then wrap up your visit by walking next door to the Mine Shaft Tavern for lunch.
The move: Drive the Turquoise Trail from Santa Fe, climb the 1900 locomotive together and ring the bell, duck into the coal seam, then walk next door to the Mine Shaft Tavern for a green chile cheeseburger.
- 📍 Madrid, NM (Turquoise Trail)
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2814 Highway 14, Madrid, NM 87010
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Casa Grande Trading Post — Drive three miles north to Cerrillos to contrast Madrid's heavy iron coal camp with a 28-room adobe hacienda holding a cluttered private mining collection and turquoise shop.
- Encaustic Art Institute — Head four miles up NM-14 to go from unvarnished steam-engine iron to hundreds of delicate beeswax paintings housed in near-ghost-town Cerrillos.
- La Cieneguilla Petroglyph Site — Pair this industrial ghost-town stroll with a rock climb past hundreds of Ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs pecked into a basalt ridge further up toward Santa Fe.
Good to know
Can you actually climb onto the steam train?
Yes, Santa Fe 769 is open to visitors, and climbing up into the steel cab to ring the bell is part of the experience.
What is the exposed coal seam?
It is an actual outdoor rock face on the museum grounds where a vein of black anthracite coal is exposed, allowing you to see and touch the raw mineral in the ground.
Where is the museum located?
It sits at 2814 Highway 14 in Madrid, New Mexico, right along the Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, directly adjacent to the Mine Shaft Tavern.
Do I need to check hours in advance?
Yes, hours at remote Turquoise Trail outpost venues can shift seasonally or unexpectedly, so double-check current opening status before making the drive.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: mad-rid.com · Wikipedia · trainorders.com
last checked: 2026-07-20