By Jim Farber

Allan Affeldt loves giving tours of the historic Fred Harvey Hotel Castaneda in Las Vegas, New Mexico, that he and his wife, artist Tina Mion, saved from the wrecking ball in 2014. A masterpiece of modern preservation, the hotel that greeted its first guests in 1898 is once again open for business — complete with Harvey Girls.

When Allan first walked me through the derelict hotel and shared his vision for its complete restoration, it seemed like a Herculean task. The building needed work from the foundation to the rafters. I even saw the spooky corner room where the former owner had lived for years like a modern-day Miss Havisham before she finally agreed to sell. By then it was almost too late.

"If we hadn't been able to buy it when we did," Affeldt recalls, "it would have been impossible to save; it was that far gone."

Taking on Herculean tasks, however, is nothing new for the couple and their get-it-done partner, Dan Lutzick. Since 1993, when they made their first acquisition, La Posada in Winslow, Arizona, they've been on a mission to save and restore the architectural legacy of America's legendary railroad hotel-restaurateur, Fred Harvey (1835-1901). Designed in 1929 by the Harvey company's star architect, Mary Colter, La Posada was also in danger of destruction. It had been taken over by the Santa Fe Railroad, turned into a rabbit warren of offices, then abandoned and left to rot.

In the beginning Affeldt and Mion lived in the leaky main building, restoring a room at a time while Mion painted in her makeshift studio. That, she recalls, is when she encountered La Posada's resident ghost.

"I told him I wouldn't bother him if he didn't bother me," she said.

The results are dazzling. And since its grand reopening in 1997, La Posada has become the must-stay stop between Los Angeles and Santa Fe — and now Las Vegas.

Next came the historic Plaza Hotel (built in 1882) on the main square in Las Vegas (a location familiar to fans of the TV series "Longmire"). Then came the Castaneda and most recently the classic watering hole and former risque dance hall, the Legal Tender, in Lamy. It is located across the street from the depot where Santa Fe Railroad (now Amtrak) passengers disembark heading to Santa Fe.

Last October, the Hotel Castaneda celebrated a grand reopening by hosting the annual gathering known as "Fred Harvey Days." This event brings together Harvey buffs from all over the country who are known collectively as "Fred Heads." They celebrate the accomplishments of the savvy English businessman who entered into a contract with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to improve accommodations along its route. Up to that time it was said that if the train ride didn't kill you, the food would. Harvey, along with his black-and-white-clad Harvey Girls, set out to civilize the West one meal at a time.

The gathering featured the first full-service dinner prepared by the Castaneda's resident chef, Sean Sinclair, and his wife, Katey. It took place in the hotel's soon-to-be-opened Kin Restaurant. At my table was Nina Strong, the oldest living Harvey Girl, at 97 filled of vivid memories about coming to work at the hotel in the "big city" of Las Vegas after traveling south from the tiny town of Raton. Here we were sitting in the same dining room where she had waited tables as a teenager.

"It all changed on Dec. 7, (1941)," she recalled. "That's when the troop trains started coming."

Every day Strong and her fellow Harvey Girls, like an army unto themselves, would serve hundreds and hundreds of meals during the 30 minutes the trains stopped at the station.

As with all of Affeldt and Mion's projects, the Hotel Castaneda will probably be forever a work in progress, whether it's adding antique details to the rooms, expanding Kin to include a multicourse tasting menu or the latest specialty cocktail in the bar. My favorite in the Locomotive was a Manhattan infused with burning mesquite smoke.

Next time you travel to northern New Mexico don't just take the predictable (though thoroughly enjoyable) side trip to Taos. Head for Las Vegas, 65 miles up Interstate 25. Better yet, celebrate your stay at the Hotel Castaneda in the Fred Harvey tradition — take the train!

WHEN YOU GO

For more information: www.castanedahotel.org

Jim Farber is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Visitors arrive at La Castaneda in Las Vegas, New Mexico, by way of Amtrak. Photo courtesy of Jim Farber.