La Mesa Depot - La Mesa, CA - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

The La Mesa Depot is now a Museum and is the only surviving San Diego and Cuyamaca Railway Station.
The Museum's website (visit link) informs us:

"In 1885 the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads extended service to San Diego. At that time, the locomotives burned coal and access to the wharf to load coal from ships was critical. The section of the San Diego and Cuyamaca Eastern Railway extending through La Mesa Springs was originally planned to join with the Santa Fe or Southern Pacific Railroads at Needles, but, due to the mountainous terrain, never got past Foster, just east of Lakeside. Transportation past that point to Julian was accomplished via stagecoach, at a price thirteen times that of railway travel.

It was in 1888 that the railway came to La Mesa Springs and in 1894 the original station in La Mesa was constructed, its first name being the Allison Station. In 1915, the small original building was moved across the tracks and expanded to its current size.

The railway served the residents of the area in a variety of ways and the station was truly the center of town to its people. The City of La Mesa and its environs certainly would not have progressed as far or as quickly without the help of the trains. Students used to commute to San Diego High School for their classes, the alternative being a one-hour ride in a buggy. The many lemon farmers appreciated and took advantage of both their proximity to a railroad and their access to the flume for irrigation. The flume had been constructed in 1887 and brought water down from Cuyamaca Lake."

Passenger service stopped in 1928, but freight service continued until 1943. In 1954 , the depot was sold and moved to the city of Lakeside for a Wsetern town exhibit. The building was then used an antique store and museum, a worm farm and a chicken coop. In 1974, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association bought the building. In 1980, it was returned to its original site and restored to its 1915 condition. it is now owned by the San Diego Railroad Museum and is open on Saturdays 1-4 pm at no charge. However, one can visit the area and trains at any time.
See more photos at (visit link)

Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: Museum What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]

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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/19/2013 Where's George visited it 04/14/2011 Metro2 visited it

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