FROZEN IN TIME - Incredible Abandoned Gas Station in New Mexico 

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That Amoco gas station was owned by Canuto Sanchez you can even see it on the Credit Card Machine plate (also known as the knuckle buster). His middle name was Newt and the gas station name was Newt’s American Service. They purchased the Plains Motel which was next door in 1966 and opened the station in 1967. In 78 they opened a DQ that is why the signs are in there. It was an Amoco and closed in 1974 and reopened in 1975 under the Exxon name and closed in 1980.

I'm astounded with this world being what it is that no one has ether vandalized or robbed this place. Amazing video ty!

Holy crap, I just realized I am now officially old 'cause this just looks like a normal everyday gas station to me.

That old "cash register" was actually a credit card machine. You would move levers on top to put to correct charge, put credit card in designated spot, put carbon paper filled form down. Then pull handle over credit card slip and it would have embossed card with numbers you had dialed in and print form. Customer would sign top form. Station would keep cardboard copy on back and middle copy would go to bank to be charged to credit card. Old times there are not forgotten

The only reason that this Gas Station is so beautifully preserved over time as it was left is, that not many people live around there. No Punks to break in there and destroy everything, no Sprayers... Somebody should buy it and make it a roadside museum for people to stop by and look what a 1980s Gas Station was like.

I can smell the inside of that gas station .

The rate of decay is slowed so much by the desert climate. Same reason why the military keeps aircraft out there. The environment is perfect for preservation.

Screwdrivers still here! That's incredible! In Italy it would have been vandalized in less than 15 minutes after closing... So sad. I love the vintage US cars stuffs, this gas station is a pearl! It could be a museum!

The oil cans didn’t peal back, you had a very sturdy metal spout you punched through the top, then poured the oil out. The machine by the front door was not a cash register, it was a credit card machine, you’d lay a credit card on it, put a three carbon receipt over the card, pull the lever to one side and push it back, it would transfer the credit card number, name, expiration date to the paper, the gas attendant would fill in the amount, and you’d sign, you’d get a copy, gas station kept a copy and one went to the bank.

This is what half our state looks like. I could show you half a dozen abandoned truck stops, 2 theme parks and several resorts. In New Mexico, the apocalypse happened 500 years ago.

Without doubt the '1' on the gas pump price has been erased by time. This what the stations did when gas got over 99 cents a gallon, the added a label inside for the $1. Some never even got the total "geared" properly to reflect the correct cost. This is why the total was covered or "marked out". I highly doubt gas was 39 cents out west in the 90's. $1.39 makes more sense. On the oil cans, we used to use a spout that stabbed into the top of the can. That's what made that big hole in the can you showed. Nice find!

I would go crazy if I saw this place in person. I like old gas stations.

Those pumps are the kind I remember as a kid.

Even if it's only been vacant for 20( More or less) years, Hard to imagine nobody's vandalized or whatever

I'm amazed that this has survived theft and vandalism. I think it's 90's, the license plates and also the gas pump price of the uninstalled pumps inside the building is $1.39. Gas was 39 cents when I got my license in '74 but in the late 70's it started going over a dollar and most stations didn't have pumps for sales over 99 cents. There was a period of time when it was common for the attendant (no self serve) would add $1 per gallon to the final price. If the pump read $3.90 for 10 gallons he would add $10 ($1 per gallon more) for a total of $13.90.

Really cool. Worked in a gas station from 1972-1976 through high school. Operated those exact same pumps as the outside ones. Credit card machine was the same as well as the candy machine. Brings back a lot of memories.

I live in New Mexico and see quite a few abandoned things. Sad to see all of the vintage technology that is left to rot.

I worked at a Shell gas station in 1978-1980 very similar to this one. Many people ask what happened to the old full service gas stations. I lived through the end times of full service, I can tell you what happened. The Arab oil embargo of the mid 1970s and the oil shortage that followed, crippled most gas stations. Gasoline was often hard to come by, we were sometimes limited to how much gas we could sell. There were odd/even days depending on the last digit of the car's license plates. It got to the point there was little profit in gasoline sales. Some station owners laid off attendants and switched to self service, they also shuttered the garage in favor of convenience stores to turn a profit. The owner of the Shell station I worked for closed the station. It was sad; Floyd bought the station in 1971 and paid off the loan within a year. That is how profitable the American gas station used to be. Its a bygone era. My biggest takeaway was the aritmetic skills I picked up working there in high school. There was no digital cash register, I made change at the window of the car with a coin dispenser worn on my belt and a wad of cash in my pocket. I had to count back the change to what the customer paid me, NOT count back the change I was handing to them. I think every high school student should learn how its done, but that is another bygone era

There are stations all over North America that still use those old Tokheim dispensers. The original registers have had to be rebuilt to accept higher than .999 cents per gallon prices. Tokheim finally went out of business in the early 2000's.

Need to preserve these old stations because the day is rapidly coming when young folks wont even know what an auto shop or gas pump looks like, sad great vid man brought back memories.

That station needs to be preserved looking that good with so much still in there, and no graffiti. There is one Route 66 gas station in NM I filmed where I want to go back and clean it out. Just love the lifeline stops along the 66!

I love that style of old gas pumps. Look so freaking cool and remind me of my childhood so much.

I can’t believe how much stuff is still in there!

I travel a lot and this is an amazing video !

How has that place not been vandalized, wow ! It really is a time capsule 🤙

Great video. Looking at that old station brought back some great memories of my teen years when I was working at a Sohio station in the early 70’s. I can almost smell it. It’s a shame that we’ll never again see service stations like this in use. We diffidently lost the “service” in gas stations. I’d like to have that large road map unit for my garage.

I remember gas stations and gas pumps like that as a kid. That station is from a bygone era, unfortunately. I remember oil in metal and cardboard cans too. I am getting old.

While returning from Clearwater Florida to Cleveland Ohio In January 1976 in my new firethorn triple red 1975&1/2 Chevy Monza Town Coupe with a manual 5 speed transmission, I would stop at almost every EXXON service station to gas up with my gold Sohio credit card ( which I STILL have)and dreamt of owning my own EXXON service station. Ahhhhh... good personal memories. Can’t thank you enuff for posting this abandoned EXXON station. Brought back to me a flood of good memories I lived a a young man in a time that waz much better & simpler in the 1970’s. CB (EP)

1:27 back in the day, you had 2 choices, Unleaded Gas and Regular Gas. Regular gasoline contained lead, which the EPA banned in 1996 for use for on-road vehicles. Regular gas also had a higher octane rating. The higher the octane the more horsepower.

I wish people would get back into simplicity. I envy the old timers because they had it damn good. please help preserve roadside America..

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! THAT VINTAGE GAS STATION NEEDS TO BE BOUGHT AND RESTORED!!!! A GREAT TOURIST ATTRACTION ON ROUTE 66!!!!! GREAT VIDEO AND THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!

To think this shop would've been busy once,many laughs,conversations and friendships made 😢 thanks for your video

You have to flip the lever after taking nozzle off. I had forgotten that. Thank you

8:45 That's not a cash register it's a device for credit card charges. No internet, nothing digital back then. Your credit card was placed on top of that machine with some 3 layer paper. The orange handle was swiped to the right and imprinted the charge, the customer got 1 of the 3 copies as a receipt.

Wow what an amazing discovery. It’s amazing that place is still standing/ Nice to see those vintage gas ⛽️ pumps. ETC. 😊

I live on the East Coast but grew up near there. I miss that land. Thank you for the video.

There's still some great stuff in there! That compressor, hoist, engine stand, transmission lift are all waiting for a new home. 7:45 - I was waiting for the black widow spider to come flying out. Be careful.

I'm amazed that there was stuff still in the building, hadn't been stolen or trashed.

i feel so happy because no one attempt to steal anything and still preserves the tools and machines inside the shop ❤️

I’ve been there before! My wife and I were on a road trip back in September 2020 and I had to stop to take pictures. Didn’t want to go inside, but it was so neat to see those old gas pumps.

I had a model train set as a kid (70s/80s) that had an Exxon station that looked exactly like this. This is what 1960s/70s Exxon stations used to look like. These were the days of "service stations" instead of C-stores that sold gas.

You can thank the desert climate of New Mexico for preserving alot of these old gas pumps are Coke machines and practically everything else in that long abandoned gas station. It still looks great after over 40 years abandoned. I may have to check out this gas station. Thank you for posting this. ⛽

This facility is a testament to the fine people of New Mexico. If the place were located just about anywhere else, it would like a war took place. The device in the sales office is not a cash register, it's a credit card processor. Before electronics, credit card receipts were mailed into the card companies for processing and billing.

Wow, that station looks like it closed down in the mid 70's or 80's. Oil cans were pretty much dead by 85 or 86. This takes me back to my early teen years.

That was a metal spout that you jammed in the can

How cool that no one has vandalized and robbed it. Really enjoyable for a change 👍

Awesome Video Blast from the Past Thank you for posting it

I hope nobody removes anything from that gas station, so it can remain a preserved site. Someone owns that station, I wish they would at least lock it up so it's secure

It's probably been said already but those pumps aren't as old as you might think. I remember as a kid seeing those pumps into the 1990s

Wow, can't believe all the tools and pumps left behind. I miss the old Gas ⛽️ stations

1000's of stations built with that nearly exact look and floor plan back in the day. My family owned and operated a Marathon service station that was nearly identical building but with only one island of three pumps. Those gas pumps were from the late 1970s and used well into the 1990s at small operations. most likely if that place was still running in the 90's, the price on those pumps was 1.39. The 1 would have been static and probably faded off by now. Those lifts in the floor have a single piston that goes down easily 10 feet into the ground. Major pain to fix if they begin to leak, notice you never see them in shops any more! Oh, that was not a 'register' that was old school credit card imprint machine, you were in trouble if you cracked or broke a customer's card! I pumped gas as my first job, as we were 'full service'. You don't see that anymore except in New Jersey.

I live down in Clovis NM and head up to Santa Rosa every now and then. I saw this station a few times, but never knew it still had all that equipment there. I'm guessing it's still owned by somebody and they make periodic checks on it when they've got time. Perhaps they got their own repair business, or even a taco/coffee stand in mind for that particular spot. Or it could be a slow project and they might actually be turning it into a residence. A guy I know over in Texico NM lives in an old gas station. The big garage definitely comes in handy for parties and working on their own vehicles!! Of course you go further east out towards San Jon and there's some even older abandoned stations right on the 66. You'd run into some real treasures out there with an open afternoon and a fully loaded touring bicycle. Park in San Jon at the free campground and ride all day doing the circuitous route from San Jon-to-Grady-Tucumcari and back. 100 miles in all.

Looks like whoever owned this place probably kept a lot of the older items up until he closed up in the early or mid 90's. I worked at a gas station almost identical to this back in the 90's when I was in high school and this brings back a bunch of great memories! Thanks and great find!

Thank you for letting me share My 1970’s Standard Oil memories. CB (EP)

I know this was posted a year ago but I had to comment on this. Even through a screen, that was amazing. It’s literally a museum. I hope you go back to see if it’s any different.

This station was built as an Amoco/ Standard Oil of Indiana, the white tile with the red stripe above the bays was their color scheme. Happy Motoring! was Esso and later Exxon’s slogan. My guess is it was built in the 60s as a Standard, became Amoco in 1972, when Amoco was adopted nationwide instead of Standard and then switched to Exxon by the late 70s. Beautiful place and kudos for the respect you showed exploring and not taking anything. Hopefully no one vandalizes it. It would be really cool if someone reopened it.

These pumps were likely used during the transition to unleaded gas. "Unleaded" is the unleaded gas we know today. "Regular" may be referring to the leaded gas used until the 1970s. The only thing we are missing is "Ethyl."

I love that vintage station..I would be at home there working it.. and repairing cars. ,. Old School service station. It was in my blood growing up..my dad owned a 5 bay station..till 1999..the end of those full service.

88 octane with "Contains Lead" on the pump, those are from the 1980s.

That old swing set and basketball hoop are left over from an old motel/motor court that used to be right next door to this service station.

The pumps inside read $1.30; judging from that and the 75 cent Coke machine, the station was probably open until the late 1990s. Pumps of that vintage were definitely still around during the '90s. Also, the overall good condition of everything indicates it likely isn't much older than that.

Did he just explain what a modern oil bottle looks like lol? Awesome video thanks for sharing

That Coke machine is awesome.

I've explored a lot of places but I'm amazed at what you found here and the condition. Those pumps and signs are amazing

Takes me back WoW! I remember using those type of oil cans, so cool Thanks for the find & share.

Gas went to 99.9 summer of 1979 during the 2nd gas crisis of the 70’s. First was early 1974... I worked for a Sohio ( Standard Oul of Ohio ) then. We sold our daily fuel allocation for the day, closed the pumps at noon with outside plackard signs. Service bays remained open til 10 pm closing time. Drivers stopped in after their work shift, threatened us with our very lives if we didn’t sell them fuel. Scary times working as an 18 year old male. In 1979, the service stations began to add to their outside price signs, a blank sign in front of the first 9 in 99.9... That was sure a wake up call- gas over $1.00 a gallon! Quite a shocker the summer of 1979!

Wow,,, what a find!!!! I used to be a Texaco service station dealer in Alamogordo, New Mexico,,,back in the 70's,,,, those old pumps have the old gas side that still had lead in it and the other side was unleaded,,, before the government outlawed any lead to be in fuel any more,,, Great find buddy!!!! Hope someone preserves all of that history!!!!!

those pumps are definately 70s I remember them then, some survived into the nineties when overnight they went digital that coates tyre changing machine is 70s as well the credit card reader was referred to as a zip zap and i remember them coming out circa 75ish still used right up to the late nineties as a back up for when the electronic service went down.

I don't know if someone already said this, but the oil cans were punched through by a spout with a sharp triangular piece on the back. You would push the sharp piece into the can and the spout was attached to pour into the car.

Great find! I hope this can be preserved!

Thanks for making this video. ☮

As recent as the 1980s, regular and unleaded were separate blends of gasoline. Regular gas had lead (to lubricate the engine's valves), but with cars getting catalytic converters in 1975, they can only run on unleaded. Thus, those pumps must be at least 40 years old. With the "Happy Motoring" letters on the building, I would assume that it was an Exxon station (which back in the early 1970s was still called Esso, for Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey).

The gas pumps are Tokheim 1250 twins. They still sell for between $4,000 to $5,000 on the refurbished gas pump equipment market. The mechanical computers in them can be updated for today's pricing.

Thanks for sharing. It's nice to see things from the past. I'm in Canada.

I stop in Santa Rosa for my stay Usually California to Oklahoma. But I tend to stop there on the way back depending if I leave later. Love the stop there. There's a great old junk yard out there. They painted the windshield of some old cars like that from the movie Cars. My kids loved it.

Hey great video of the gas station in regards to the pumps back then they used real stainless steel when they made them. It looks like there is still power on in the building the fluorescent lights are on! Someone still owns that building look at the snowplow it is late model equipment.

Reminds me of my first job at a gas station in 1968, back then car carburetors had built in gas filters and the owner taught me to ask drivers if I could check their gas filter. Once I took it off I would tear it apart making it useless and say "see you need a new one " price for new filter installed 1 dollar. Thanks for the memories

What a great video. Thanks for sharing your adventure and God bless 🙏

That was probably a "full service station" something long gone. I traveled that road many times and thanks for the memories.

Had to have closed after the mid 70's, the pumps had unleaded & leaded gas available. The pump housings are made of stainless steel, so they don't rust easily. The owner's house might have stood beside the gas station & the playground was for his kids.

Based on the type of tires in the shop, the Napa boxes on the shelf, and a few other automotive giveaways, this place saw use in the late 80s maybe early 90s, but whether they were still selling gas is a mystery.

Looks like that gas station in the movie Halloween 4. Thanks for sharing hard to believe that station has been abandoned for almost 30 years.

Great video thanks

AMAZING VIDEO... Soo Eerie, It's Like Something Out Of Legion Or TERMINATOR Films!!

Those old Coke machines ran on real freon, used a LOT of electricity, and the cans came out just about frozen. Late 20th Cen soda can machines were awesome!

Thanks for sharing 🎉

I worked at standard/ amaco gas station when I was a kid 15 pumping gas and all these stations were kind of set up the same way brings back a lot of memories

That whole thing should be in some kind of a museum.

And to think, this was most likely a FULL-SERVICE Station, they came out and pumped your gas, checked your oil, and washer fluid, and cleaned your windshield & back glass as you were waiting for your tank to be filled! 😁 These were jobs that Made America Great and many were fine mechanics and were always busy, with engine tune-ups and new tire changes, and other mechanical repairs!

I remember getting soda In a machine just like that...And pumping gas when it was $.79 a gallon😊 thanks for the video down memory lane👍

That’s amazing thanks

I was 16 in 1978. Worked in a gas station and regular & unleaded were $0.589 & $0.609 . Those pumps had to have been last used not too long before then. That Texamatic Fluid can had been opened with an old oil can spout. You'd just stick it in the edge of the can and flip the can to pour the oil. Pull it out when done and stick it in the next can. They were very common in the 70's.

The gas pumps inside have the "1.39" right on them, as is mentioned below. Those stations were prefabricated, and brought in and assembled on a pad that was poured in one big slab over the tanks, etc. I remember seeing them assembled, and moved. The oil in those cans was poured through a funnel that punched into the top of the can, opening it for pour into the engine. The "cash register" is a credit card slider.

Great video !! And what a treasure to find. It's unbelievable that such a place apparently was never vandalized, ransacked, or commercially exploited. Plenty of stuff that would be worth something. Then again you don't know what it was like to start with, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot was already removed during the years. But it's still in pretty good state though. Miraculous

When he walked into the service Bay it really brought back memories I'm retired now but it was like I was there

I went into Esso gas stations just like this when first started driving. Brings back memories

I literally drove by that exact gas station today

I'm not sure if I'm seeing ghosts, but WERE THOSE FLUORESCENT TUBES STILL RUNNING? That's incredible!

Great effort, thanks a lot 👍