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(rshsdepot) Kelso, CA
Link to Associated Press story.
Bernie Wagenblast
Transportation Communications Newsletter
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications
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Abandoned railroad station gets new life
February 20, 2005
BY JOE CAVARETTA
KELSO, Calif. -- In the middle of the Mojave Desert, the red tile roof,
brick plazas and elegant stone arches of a palatial California mission-style
building appear like a mirage beside three towering palm trees in the
shimmering sand.
This is the Kelso Depot, an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad station, 125
miles west of Las Vegas. Although freight trains still run on the tracks out
front, the grand station -- built in 1923 -- has not been used in 20 years.
The 2,000 people who once lived in Kelso, where iron ore was mined during
World War II, have dwindled to about a dozen.
But Kelso Depot will soon become alive again. The National Park Service is
converting the two-story building into the main information center for the
Mojave National Preserve, where the Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin deserts
converge. With 1.6 million acres, the preserve is the third-largest unit of
the National Park Service outside of Alaska; nearly half of it designated as
wilderness.
"The variation in landscapes and plants and animals is incredible," said
James Woolsey, chief of interpretation for the Mojave Preserve. "You go from
salt flats that fry at 120 degrees in the summer to mountains that are
forested with pinyon pine and juniper and on the very top white fir trees."
When the visitors center opens in the fall, it will have 10 rooms of
exhibits, a reading room where you can learn about the desert, and
historically furnished rooms.
The original station had a telegraph office, a waiting room for passengers
and a place for railroad workers to sleep. Later a restaurant known as the
Beanery opened in the building; its ceiling fans, long counters and
swiveling stools remain in good condition. Plans call for the Beanery to
reopen in mid-2006 with a simple menu based on what was served in the
original restaurant.
In addition to educating visitors about the park, the Kelso Depot, halfway
between Interstates 15 and 40, will serve as a welcome oasis for travelers.
The nearest town, Baker, is 35 miles away.
Several of the park's notable attractions are a short drive from the
station. A volcanic area with 32 cinder cones -- large conical hills formed
by lava flows thousands of years ago -- is on Kelbaker Road, between Baker
and Kelso. The Kelso Dunes, golden mounds of sand that rise 700 feet high,
are about 10 miles away. The world's largest Joshua Tree forest, at Cima
Dome, is 20 miles away.
Kelso Depot has a twin station in Caliente, Nev., about five hours away,
that has been turned into a town hall and library. Union Pacific originally
planned to tear Kelso Depot down, but area residents and the local
congressman, Rep. Jerry Lewis, successfully fought to preserve the building.
When the Mojave National Preserve was created in 1994, the depot was an
obvious choice for a visitors center.
"It really is stunning," Woolsey said, "located in the middle of nowhere, in
beautiful desert country."
IF YOU GO
KELSO DEPOT: This abandoned railroad station, accessible from Interstates 15
and 40 via Kelbaker Road, will reopen in the fall of 2005 as the main
information center for the Mojave National Preserve in California. For more
information, visit www.nps.gov/moja/mojahtkd. htm or www.nps.gov/moja or
call (760) 252-6100.
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1091
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org