Our Story
A century at the summit.
From a 1904 Southern Pacific Type 23 depot to a community-rebuilt museum on the nation's second transcontinental railroad.
The original Tehachapi depot was built in 1904 by the Southern Pacific Railroad — a Type 23 station of redwood board construction, sitting at the summit of one of the most ambitious mountain crossings in American railroad history. For more than a century it served the trains and travelers crossing the pass on what is today the nation's second transcontinental railroad.
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
Mayor Ed Grimes promised 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 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.
1904
Built by Southern Pacific
2008
Destroyed by fire · June 13
2010
Rebuilt & reopened · June 5
Our Mission
To educate the public on the history and impact of the railroad in our community and geographic area.
The Friends of the Tehachapi Depot, through the operation of the Tehachapi Depot Railroad Museum, promote the story of the people who built and continue to operate this major thoroughfare of commerce — the nation's second transcontinental railroad.
Our all-volunteer staff is dedicated to the successful operation of our historic depot facility, maintaining the artifacts, continuously improving the displays, and providing an interactive learning experience for our local and worldwide visitors. We practice diversity and inclusion in our operations and in our workplace.
Our Values
What we stand for.
Our Volunteers
The most important part of our organization — highly regarded, well trained, and recognized for their service.
Our Visitors
Welcomed and treated with respect and kindness. The better we treat them, the greater our rewards.
Continuous Improvement
We strive to always improve our displays, our services, and our artifacts.
Our Members
We provide excellent benefits and training programs to enhance the experience of every visitor.
Our Community
We strive to be the best ambassadors for visitors to the Tehachapi area.
Everyone
We value every person regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, disability, or membership in any other legally protected group. Discrimination has no place in our organization.
Our Vision
To continuously and persistently enhance our ability to tell the history of railroading by developing new exhibits, expanding our research capability, improving our community outreach, and furthering the excellence of our volunteers.
Friends of the Tehachapi Depot · 501(c)(3)