Kelso is about 100 miles from Barstow, CA, or Las Vegas, NV. From the north, you
reach it 35 miles down Kelbaker Road off the I-
A base was first established at Kelso in 1905 by the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad
for maintenance and engine crews working helper locomotives on the Kelso-
In 1903, the Union Pacific gained a 50% stake in LASL and, in 1921, took a controlling interest. The LASL was then fully integrated into the UP system, although it continued to exist on paper until wound up in 1988. In 1924, the railroad constructed the depot building that still stands at the site.
I visited in September 2008 and February 2010. The photographs on this page are from both visits.
Related links:
www.nps.gov/moja/.../kelso-
www.npca.org/.../2005/fall/news2.html
digital-
www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=2800
Report a broken link or suggest a new one.
Kelso is in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve, a 2,456 sq mile wilderness area established in 1994.
It is close to the foot of the Providence Mountains, where springs were tapped to water steam locomotives operating out of the depot.
In 1992, Union Pacific sold the building to the Federal Government for $1. A $4 million renovation programme began in 1999 and was finally completed in 2005.
The building is an excellent example of the Mission Revival style of architecture
used by a number of railroads in the South-
Except during WWII, when portable houses were built along the line to house workers handling increased traffic and loading iron ore from Kaiser Steel’s nearby Vulcan Mine, neither the original baggage room, nor the ticket office saw much use.
Most passengers were employees of the Union Pacific who had travel passes.
The Park Service offices are upstairs, as well as more exhibits.
The Union Pacific line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (the old LASL line) runs right alongside the depot. It’s a busy line, and you should catch some action while visiting the depot.
The view above is looking north from the old depot platform (now fenced off).
After the old LASL depot building was moved along the tracks to make room, the Kelso depot was built in 1924. Designed by LASL civil engineers in Los Angeles, it combined ticket and baggage offices, restaurant, reading room, club house and dormitories.
The depot finally ceased functioning completely in 1962, and the building closed in 1985. It was then scheduled for demolition, but a preservation movement produced a stay of execution.
Kelso was a “whistle stop”, where passengers were picked up when signalled. Passenger trains stopped servicing the depot in 1964.
There is a board in the walkway showing arrival and departure times of the Continental Limited, Gold Coast Limited and Los Angeles Limited, all of which stopped there.
The depot building is now one of two Information Centres in the Mojave National Preserve operated by the National Parks Service.
The NPS have done a great job restoring the depot to how it must have looked when
it was operating. The depot is open from 9.00-
Kelso was really a Union Pacific railroad town.
At its largest, during WWII, the population reached nearly 2,000. It had its own Post Office, and the derelict building still stands opposite the depot at 90920 Kelso Cima Rd. The population declined after WWII as the UP introduced diesels, which did not require servicing at the depot.
The view above is looking south.
Not much now remains at Kelso, other than the depot and a few houses. At the height of operations, however, there was a five stall roundhouse, a wye for turning locomotives and water and coaling facilities. Nine water wells eventually tapped local groundwater in place of the Providence Mountains springs.
Above, the old ticket office on the ground floor has been restored to look as it did in the mid 20th century.
Below, the restored baggage room, also on the ground floor.
The old downstairs lunch room continued to operate until 1985, when it closed.
When I visited in late 2008, the lunch room was still closed, although restored.
However, in 2009, the eatery re-
Above, the ground floor dispatcher’s office has also been restored. This view is from the internal corridor.
Below, a composite view of the office looking through the outside window.
The hatch on the left in this view is to the ticket office. The door in the centre leads to the baggage room.
Restored to its 1924 appearance and operated by Mike Williams, it offers chilli and beans, bagels, coffee, tea and sodas, as well as fruit smoothies, milk shakes, ice cream, pie and brownies.
When I visited in 2010, I had coffee and a delicious slice of apple pie, as well
as a friendly chat with Mike before heading down Kelbaker Rd to the I-
A restored depot worker’s room (above) and crew quarters room (below) are also on this floor.
Above, the restored reading room.
Eight rooms on the first floor were set aside for male depot workers. These were permanent staff, including cooks, telegraphers and the station agent. Female workers were accommodated in rooms downstairs.
Crew also had sleeping quarters on the first floor. Unlike the permanent staff, their quarters did not have washing facilities and there were two beds to a room.
The NPS has installed a number of displays on the first floor with historic photos showing life at the depot over the years, as well as information on the local geography, geology, flora and fauna.
There are numerous railroad related artefacts, such as the hand jack, locomotive bell and manual car mover in the photo on the lower left. There are also remnants from the lives of local inhabitants, such as the post hole drill and domestic household items on the right.
Several maps are on display, showing the history of travel through the Mojave desert, mining and transportation in the area, and the route of the Union Pacific line from Kelso to Las Vegas, NV.
There is information on nearby Vulcan Mine and arrival of the “National Old Trailways”
highway between Needles and San Bernadino, CA, in 1914. Historic Route 66 replaced
the “National Old Trailways” in 1926. It is now the I-
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