Caliente Railroad Depot

Railfans are a special breed of traveler. They know their A-units from their frogs and centipedes, and appreciate anything related to riding the rails. So, when they travel to a train-themed historic site, they hope it’s going to be everything they dreamed of—which makes the Caliente Railroad Depot in southeastern Nevada a rare gem: it lives up to its hype. 

The crown jewel of historic downtown Caliente, this architectural masterpiece was originally built to host a Union Pacific Railroad depot in 1923. Exemplifying the mission revival style of architecture, this beauty was designed by well-known Los Angeles architects John and Donald Parkinson. Upon initial construction, Caliente was intended to be the next big resort town of the American West. As Caliente is the halfway marker between the larger cities of Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Union Pacific used this railroad depot as a major hub for many years.

In September 1921, the previous depot burned to the ground, but locals kept their railroading dreams alive. The result was a brand new $83,000 (that’s about $1.4 million in today’s money) depot, ready to serve out the rest of the 20th century and beyond. Alongside the depot is a gigantic railroad-switching yard, which also runs adjacent to the main drag through town.

At one time, Union Pacific even had a roundhouse and a train maintenance station on the eastern edge of Caliente. When steam engine trains were replaced with diesel locomotives in the 1940s, Union Pacific moved its hub to the Las Vegas area, and while the friendly community of Caliente has never completely lost its sparkle, suffered accordingly.

During its heyday, the Caliente Railroad Depot boasted a completely solid oak interior, a bustling restaurant, and a 50-room hotel. A Nevada State historical marker details other interesting snippets of information about the depot, and the building itself serves up some unmatched photo ops. If you’re lucky, you might even get to see an iron horse rip through the downtown as freight trains still use the same rail line. Today, the depot doubles as the City of Caliente’s City Hall. Visitors can learn more about the area’s railroading history at the small boxcar museum adjacent to the station. With Union Pacific and Amtrak memorabilia found in the box cars and station, the property harkens back to a time when Amtrak ran its famous Desert Wind line through here from 1979 to 1997. It is, in other words, a must-see for railroad buffs and history lovers alike.