The San Bernardino Santa Fe Depot (Metrolink designation San Bernardino–Depot) is a Mission Revival Style

passenger rail Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

terminal in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It has been the primary station for the city, serving Amtrak today, and the Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroads in the past. Until the mid-20th century, the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

had a station 3/4 of a mile away. It currently serves one

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

(''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff ...

'') and two Metrolink lines (

Inland Empire–Orange County Line The Inland Empire–Orange County (IEOC) Line is a commuter rail line run by Metrolink in Southern California. It runs from San Bernardino through Orange County to Oceanside in northern San Diego County. It is the only Metrolink line not to ser ...

and

San Bernardino Line The San Bernardino Line is a Metrolink (Southern California), Metrolink line running between Downtown Los Angeles east through the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire (California), Inland Empire to San Bernardino, California, San Bernardino, ...

). The depot is a historical landmark listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Passenger and Freight Depot.

Early history

Through its subsidiary

California Southern Railroad The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wha ...

, the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

(ATSF) first built a two-and-a-half-story wooden structure on the site in 1886 to replace a converted

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

that had been used as a temporary station. The 1886 building was mostly destroyed in a fire just after midnight 17 November 1916. In the pre-Amtrak era the station not only had Santa Fe Railway trains, it also had

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

trains. The trains of both railroads served disparate destinations in the west and in central United States. Local streetcar service was provided by the

Pacific Electric The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...

on their Colton Line until 1942. Named trains in 1960 included: *Santa Fe: **''

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City) **''

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City) **''

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City) **''

Super Chief The ''Super Chief'' was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The streamliner claimed to be "The Train of the Stars" because of the various celebrities it carried between Chicago, Ill ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City) *Union Pacific: **''

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Ogden, UT) **''

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

'' (Los Angeles to Chicago via Ogden, UT) **'' City of St. Louis'' (Los Angeles to St. Louis via Ogden, UT and Kansas City)

Architecture and design

Local politicians requested ATSF to build a new station on a much larger scale than the previous. The new station, designed by architect W.A. Mohr, cost $800,000 () to build and was officially opened on 15 July 1918. At that time, it was the largest railway station west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The ''

San Bernardino Sun ''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area s ...

'' wrote "Santa Fe's Station to be the finest in the west." A few years after the depot's opening, an extension was added that included a

Harvey House The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing n ...

and living quarters. The historic depot is built in the Mission Revival Style with

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

and

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

features. Utilizing hollow clay blocks, a red tile roof and stucco exterior, the depot was designed to withstand fire. Four domed towers are built around a large center lobby with polished tile walls and floor. The interior includes handcrafted high beams, coffered ceilings and decorative column capitals. The depot was featured in ''Visiting... with

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

'' Episode 711.

Decline and renovation

The station saw heavy use throughout the 20th century. But like with many railroad stations, there was a gradual decline in usage with the advent of automobiles, buses and air travel. The Harvey House closed in the 1950s. In 1971, the ATSF transferred its passenger service to Amtrak. From 1979 to 1997 Amtrak's ''

Desert Wind The ''Desert Wind'' was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran from 1979 to 1997. It operated from Chicago to Los Angeles as a section of the ''California Zephyr'', serving Los Angeles via Salt Lake City; Ogden, Utah; and Las Vegas. ...

'' (Los Angeles-Las-Vegas-Denver-Chicago) made stops at the station. Metrolink began service to the station on May 17, 1993. In 1992,

San Bernardino Associated Governments San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG or SanBAG) was an association of the San Bernardino County local governments and the regional transportation planning agency Including also regional planning organization for the county, with policy ...

(SANBAG) purchased the historic depot from Santa Fe. While Amtrak and Metrolink stopped using the depot in favor for a much smaller newer structure on the west side of the older one, SANBAG acquired over $15 million from federal and local grants and funds to begin an extensive restoration of the historic depot beginning in 2002. In 2004, SANBAG and Metrolink moved some of their offices there. After renovations are complete, SANBAG will share ownership with the City of San Bernardino and both agencies intend on leasing space in it. The historic depot waiting area, along with a new snack shop, opened again for Amtrak and Metrolink passengers on 2 May 2008. A new elevator, platforms, tracks, and an overpass were built in March and April 2017 as part of the Downtown San Bernardino Passenger Rail Project, an extension of Metrolink service to the

San Bernardino Transit Center The San Bernardino Transit Center (Metrolink designation San Bernardino–Downtown) is an intermodal transit center in downtown San Bernardino, California, United States. It is owned and operated by Omnitrans, the area's public transportation ...

. The San Bernardino Intermodal facility is directly adjacent to the station.

Services

Metrolink

Amtrak

Amtrak's ''

'', which travels between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, stops daily in each direction here.

Platforms and tracks

References

External links

San Bernardino Station – USA Rail Guide (TrainWeb)
{{National Register of Historic Places in California Amtrak stations in San Bernardino County, California Metrolink stations in San Bernardino County, California Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations in California Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway hotels Fred Harvey Company National Register of Historic Places in San Bernardino County, California Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures in San Bernardino, California Defunct hotels in California History of San Bernardino, California 1918 establishments in California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1918 Mission Revival architecture in California Moorish Revival architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1886