Historical Kelso Railway station, Mojave Desert Ca by Hedepo
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Description
Historical Kelso Railway station, Mojave Desert California
Thanks for your attention,
Have a very nice evening
Henk
Kelso is a ghost town and defunct railroad depot in the Mojave National Preserve in California. It was named after a railroad worker who won a contest to have the town named after him. The town was built specifically as a railroad station because of its location and nearby springs that provided abundant water.
Starting off as what was a simple train depot in the 1920's, the town of Kelso boomed briefly to as many as 2000 residents in the 1940s, when borax and iron mines opened nearby. Gold and silver were also discovered in the nearby hills of what became known as the Kelso district. The town shrank again when the mines closed after about a decade.
Restored restaurant at depot.
Kelso was a base of operations for the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific). Here, trains were watered and "helper" locomotives were attached to assist the regular trains in climbing the steep Cima Hill. The distance between Las Vegas and the connection with the Santa Fe line at Daggett was too far for trains without a meal car, so Kelso was a convenient spot for a restaurant stop.
The depot building itself was built in 1923 using a Spanish "California mission" building style. It contained boarding rooms for railroad employees and a restaurant for both employees and passengers. It also had a telegraph office and waiting room. Later, a restaurant nicknamed the "Beanery," that served home-style meals was housed in the building. The large rooms in the basement also served as a community center for local residents.
The depot remained in operation until 1986. It was recently renovated to become a park visitor center. Renovation was completed in 2005 and is now open to the public.
Info taken from Wikipedia
Comments (8)
GiMi53
An image coming straight out of a (western) movie... (I even remember seeing this place... 16 years ago !!) An excellently composed picture, Henk !
MrsLubner
So many put their lives in the hands of the desert... How they must have been devistated when their jobs folded and the desert reclaimed their town. I'm glad the depot lasted though. Nice shot showing the vast expanse of nothing around it and the lonely hills off on the horizon.
Ionel
Superb! I love being in small railway stations and look along the lines! :)
Richardphotos
when I return I will seek this place out. outstanding history and capture.must have been really hot there if you just took this
nikolais
those ghost towns...reasons are plenty (Chernobyl as an example)... we have plenty of them in Russia without whatever chance to get revived.... I am glad there are places that have been brought back to life and this gives hopes that we are smarter than we think we are. thank you a million!
Luka_30
Excellently composed, and great perspective!
RobyHermida
Nice!!!!!!!!!!!
Cosine
A railroad to nowhere, seemingly. I've never been there, thanks for sharing, Henk.