A century at the summit.

The Arrival of the Rails · 1862–1875

More than 130 years have passed since the railroad came to Tehachapi. It began with a series of Pacific Railway Acts starting in 1862, in which the federal government provided loans and land grants for a transcontinental railroad across sections of the U.S.

In 1867, the Southern Pacific Railroad filed a map of the general route from San Francisco into the San Joaquin Valley, turning south into the Tehachapi mountains toward Mojave. The railroad passed into Bakersfield on the north bank of the Kern River, establishing the terminal of Sumner in 1874 — an ideal location since Bakersfield's downtown Chester Avenue was subject to flooding.

In 1875, a temporary track reached Caliente. Business and land deals boomed as the railroad made profits hauling freight from the mines of Havilah, Cerro Gordo, and Panamint.

The Engineering Marvel & The Pass · 1875–1876

To continue the line to Tehachapi, the railroad recruited more than 3,000 Chinese laborers. Southern Pacific Superintendent F.M. Worthington noted in 1920: "Construction of the line was not difficult until the barrier of the Tehachapi range was met. Here engineers faced the problem of rising 4,000 feet to traverse 46 miles."

Laborers used pick and shovel, horse-drawn carts, and over 600 kegs of blasting hercules powder per week to cut through solid and decomposed granite. Starting in 1874, this monumental effort resulted in 18 tunnels, 10 bridges, and numerous water tunnels for steam locomotives — all completed in just two years.

The Toll of Construction. The completion didn't come without immense human cost. More than 300 Chinese workers were buried in a basin east of Caliente, whose bodies were later exhumed and returned to China.

The Tehachapi Loop

Completed in 1876 under the direction of Southern Pacific Chief Engineer William Hood, the Tehachapi Loop is considered one of the seven wonders of the railroad world. A 1953 historical plaque notes: "In gaining elevation around the central hill of the loop, a 4,000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below."

Conductor's Memory. Rufus Thomas, a former Southern Pacific conductor of 40 years, recalls that the Loop was engineered so trains could easily climb, descend the steep elevation, and manage their brakes. He noted the top speed at the Loop was 25 mph — "if you went faster, you would fall off."

Eyewitness Account. Mary Kessing, who ran a boarding house for construction forces with her husband, recalled in 1920: "The work was rather monotonous, nothing but hard work day-after-day… While we were camped where the Loop is now, my daughter Jennie was born. From there we moved on up the canyon to about where tunnel No. 14 is now. There was a big storm the night we moved and our house was blown down, so we had to hunt the shelter of a tent."

The Loop is located between Keene and the city of Tehachapi on Woodford-Tehachapi Road, partially viewable from Broome Road off Highway 58.

Reshaping the Valley & The First Depots

The railroad permanently changed local settlements. Residents of Greenwich (four miles west of the Summit) literally moved their homes and businesses closer to the tracks on log rollers. Greenwich soon became known as "Old Town" in 1876.

In 1899, Southern Pacific granted trackage rights over the mountains to the Santa Fe railroad.

Local agriculture boomed because of the access. Farmers grew and profited from hay, potatoes, lumber, wheat, barley, apples, and pears in Brite, Cummings, and Bear Valleys, loading them at packing houses by the tracks. As founding member Doug Pickard notes: "The railroad is what built this county and the same thing applies to Tehachapi. They could only prosper because of the railroad."

The Depot: History & Rebirth

The 1904 Depot. The original Tehachapi depot actually burned down in February 1904 due to an oil leak on a Santa Fe passenger engine. It was rebuilt as a Southern Pacific Type 23 station of redwood board construction in the summer of 1904 and served trains and travelers crossing the pass until 1971, when the last passenger service train operated.

The Preservation Effort. After public use was discontinued, the Tehachapi Heritage League inquired about preserving the building. In 2005, the City of Tehachapi and Union Pacific signed a lease agreement to restore it into a museum operated by the Friends of the Tehachapi Depot (FOTD).

A Terrible Tragedy. On June 12, 2008, the building's new sprinkler system was installed — the museum was about two weeks from opening. That night, around 10pm, two men were playing with bottle rockets nearby. One landed on or near the depot's roof and smoldered until roughly 3am on Friday, June 13, when the fire was finally detected.

The depot was 104 years old and built of redwood. It burned hot. Fortunately the building was nearly empty — only the railroad scales were lost — and the night winds had died down enough that damage across the street was limited to melted awnings and broken windows. For about a week afterward, every train through Tehachapi blew its horn in respect as it passed.

A Promise to Rebuild. Because the City carried insurance, Mayor Ed Grimes was able to promise the depot would be rebuilt — and almost exactly two years to the day later, on June 5, 2010, the community celebrated the completed restoration with a ribbon-cutting and downtown street party. Local baker Linda Petty designed and built a cake to look exactly like the depot.

The City of Tehachapi led the reconstruction using the original Southern Pacific Type 23 floor plans, including the distinctive bead-board interior — which had to be custom milled because it is no longer commercially available. The most significant changes from the original were accessible door hardware and ramps, and a new viewing platform on the north side of the building adjacent to the train tracks.

Today the depot is the "Jewel" of downtown Tehachapi.

A Partnership

The museum buildings and displays are owned by the City of Tehachapi; the underlying property is owned by Union Pacific; and the museum is operated entirely by volunteer members of the Friends of the Tehachapi Depot (FOTD). Funding comes from our small gift shop, visitor donations, bus tours, and special events throughout the year, along with individual and corporate gifts.

The adjacent rail line is a very active freight route used by both the Union Pacific (UP) and BNSF Railway — so a visit to the depot very often comes with the rumble of a real train climbing the pass.