When planning for this
“Depot of the Week” series, I looked at hundreds of depot postcards trying
to decide which to choose. Should I choose selections of those magnificent
architectural monuments unique to a particular railroad, or those smaller
ubiquitous “whistle stop” stations that even the layman would recognize as
being a depot? I decided that either of two architectural adjectives,
beautiful or functional, had to be met to merit their inclusion in this
series. Santa Fe’s La Grande depot
epitomized beauty and our depot, a Southern Pacific Railroad Common
Standard #22 is all about functionalism. Just note the classification
“Common Standard”. That alone says it all.
When you click through
to view this week’s card, “Big Trees Station”, you may wonder if I loaded
the right postcard, because all you “see” is just a locomotive standing in
a forest. This is not just any forest, but a stand of some of the largest
and oldest trees on earth. It was here a narrow gauge railroad, running
south from Alameda on San Francisco Bay to Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay by
the name of the South Pacific Coast, located a “depot’ on their scheduled
timetable. The SPC “depot” was located at this spot because one could step
off the train and be towered over and sheltered by 200 foot tall giants in
a serene glade covered by moss and ferns with the sounds of the San Lorenzo
River and the wind in the big trees playing a concert that would “sooth the
even the most worried mind” of the times. The list of industry giants,
dignitaries, religious leaders, presidents and royal figureheads that
stopped here just to awe at the scenery and especially the magnificent
trees would fill a large book unto itself. Several “picnic specials” were
on the timetable each weekend year after year. Even Southern Pacific’s
famed “Sun Tan Special” on its way to the beaches at Santa Cruz was a
regular visitor until the closure of the line in the 1940’s due to floods.
By the teens a very SP looking
structure measuring about six feet by six feet at the most was located
here. But, at the time of this postcard, the “depot” was just a bench
sitting in absolutely one of California’s most beautiful settings. The
depot “floor” was moss and ferns, the “walls” were blooming dogwood, the
“ceiling” was the branches of 1000 year old plus redwood trees, and the
summer “air conditioning” was the coastal fog that floated in each day from
Santa Cruz. When Teddy Roosevelt
visited, he took in the sights and sounds and became so peaceful and
relaxed that he lay down on the forest floor and took a long nap.
The “depot” is around
the curve just behind the locomotive to the left. You can see the depot
marker sign between the locomotive and the redwood tree. You can also see
the passing track on the right where the picnic specials and private
Pullman cars would lay over. Look closely at the track ties. This picture
was taken not long after the SP had taken control of the South Pacific
Coast and had laid the longer ties in anticipation of standard gauging the
line from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz. The project was held up a few years due
to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The card is postmarked 1909.
SPC’s Big Trees “depot”
has certainly met one of my two needed criteria; beauty. I feel it actually
may have been the most beautiful “depot” in California. It is still there
today, but trains pass with thousands of tourists who have no idea of the
historical significance of what is now just a small clearing in the woods
just south of Felton and a wide spot in the roadbed along the line of
today’s Santa Cruz Big Trees Railroad. Sadly, it’s not a stop along the
way.
