Capital Campaign · 2025–2027
Build the next century
of the Depot.
The Annex Project will add climate-controlled space to store artifacts and create new exhibits — and a fully restored caboose will sit between the depot and the annex as the centerpiece of the campus.
Why Now
We've outgrown the depot we worked so hard to save.
Since reopening in 2010, the museum has welcomed visitors from all 50 states and more than 40 countries. Our archive of photographs, timetables, and oral histories has more than doubled — and most of it sits in storage, waiting for a place to be seen.
The Annex is slated to provide climate-controlled space to store artifacts and create new exhibits. A fully restored caboose will be placed between the annex and the depot, anchoring the campus.
What Your Gift Builds
Climate-Controlled Annex
Purpose-built space to properly store our growing collection of artifacts, photographs, and records — and to mount new exhibits.
Restored Caboose
A fully restored caboose placed between the depot and the annex — a working centerpiece visitors can walk up to and explore.
Room to Welcome More
A larger campus that can host school groups, lectures, and the docent training program throughout the year.
Architectural Rendering
Concept · Subject to change
Every Gift Counts
Lay a board. Drive a nail. Build the Annex.
Gifts of every size are recognized in the Annex donor wall. The Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum is a 501(c)(3) — donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Giving Levels
Naming opportunities.
Friend
$100+
Brakeman
$500+
Engineer
$2,500+
Cornerstone
$10,000+