March 25, 2013
After our "discovery" of the Tehachapi Loop we drove on into Tehachapi proper. It was a delightful ride through the countryside. With a bit of searching with the GPS systems and travel apps on the iPad, we soon discovered there was a Railroad Museum in town, we headed right over.
The Tehachapi Depot has a long and colorful history. It was originally built in 1876, burned to the ground in 1904, rebuilt, survived an earthquake in 1952, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and was turned over to the city in 2006. In 2008 disaster hit again during clean up and restoration when illegal fireworks set the building on fire. The Friends of the Tehachapi Depot rebuilt and opened the "new" depot in June of 2010. It was rebuilt as closely as possible to the "old" depot that was destroyed in that unfortunate fire.
They have a fine collection, well displayed.
There were quite a few drawings and photos of the loop. Since they allowed photos I took a bit of liberty and shot a few of the loop, first a drawing:
And, this fantastic aerial photo. (Praying this was not copyrighted. GULP)
The museum had a very nice display about the Harvey girls and services. They recently were gifted with these two bottles of "spirits". Yes, that bottle in the front was partially "used". Note the Southern Pacific Company logo on the dinner plate.
Outside of the depot building there was a collection of signals and of course, a railroad car.
We spent a nice afternoon in Tehachapi, a visit to this fine museum is highly recommended. It is not that far off of 58 if you happen to be driving by.
* Copyright of the map and photo revert to the museum and photographers. I claim NO rights to either. The rest of the photos are mine. Be good, don't click and claim! The internet lords will NOT smile at you for stealing.
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