Discovering Nevada – Caliente

Heading back home from camping in Cathedral Gorge, we intended to stop in Caliente for just a minute, planning to take a couple of photographs of the town’s historic railroad station. Then we met Rick Phillips, the volunteer docent at the town’s Heritage Boxcar Museum, and we ended up spending two hours.

The historic train station is now the centerpiece of Nevada’s smallest incorporated city, and it’s an impressive building as you whiz past it on US-93. Caliente’s history is closely aligned with the history of the railroad. With a population of under 1000 people, Caliente seems an unlikely place for such a grand, Mission Revival style building.

View of Caliente’s Historic Train Depot From US-93

While the railroad is intertwined with Caliente’s history, its founding has a different twist. It was Ike and Dow Barton, two escaped slaves, who founded a ranch in the area that was later obtained by the Culverwell brothers, who established it as a key supplier of hay for nearby mining towns. Hot springs were discovered in 1901, giving the town its name. It was, however, the railroad that put Caliente on the map.

According to the town’s website, Caliente is the midpoint between LA and Salt Lake City for the Union Pacific Railroad. When the Union Pacific built the train depot in 1923, it did so with the expectation that Caliente would become the next big resort town in the West. As such, the newly built depot costing $83,000 (that’s about $1.4 million in today’s money) “was ready to serve out the rest of the 20th century and beyond.”

Alongside the depot is a railroad-switching yard with lots of tracks that still run parallel to the main road (US-93) through town. Though it was used by Union Pacific as a main hub for years, the growth of Las Vegas and the use of diesel engines instead of steam engines in the 1940s led the Union Pacific to move its hub from Caliente to Las Vegas. Though Caliente remains an active freight corridor on the LA-SLC line, the Union Pacific discontinued commuter service in the 1970s. Moving the hub was a major blow to the town with a loss of commerce, jobs, and tourists.

In its prime years, the Caliente Railroad Depot was a bustling place with a solid oak interior, a full-serve restaurant, and a 50-room hotel. Townspeople remember that it wasn’t just a station, it was the city’s gathering spot, a classy place “just like the Ritz-Carlton.” Today, after a major renovation, the depot has been repurposed as the city hall, library, sheriff’s station, and a center for community events like town meetings and high school proms, while it still maintains the city’s most precious historic landmark.

We parked next to the depot and wandered along its length. We could see offices inside, but most doors were locked. Next door is the Heritage Boxcar Museum, which, as you probably guessed, is housed in a railroad boxcar. It was here that Rick Phillips arrived on the scene. He was chatting with some townsfolk, saw us approach, and asked if we wanted to take a look. Well, sure!

As we walked along the front of the Mission Revival style Train Depot, the past came alive.

Oh, my. It’s chock-a-block full of railroad memorabilia and ‘okay to touch’ items like an electrical telegraph, so you can practice sending Morse code or an old stereoscope, the predecessor of the ViewMaster. Rick encouraged us to look around, touch, look more closely, and ask questions. He was friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. When he told us he was a former high school teacher in town, it didn’t surprise us one bit.

Volunteer Docent, Rick Phillips and David in the heritage Box Car Museum in Caliente

Preservation of Caliente’s history is important to him. He’s quoted in an interview with 8NewsNow: “If you don’t save the past, you don’t know the struggles, the character of the people that made Caliente what it is.”

He took us through the caboose parked next door to the boxcar continuing his commentary.

When he asked us if we wanted a tour of the inside of the depot and produced the keys, we couldn’t say no. The Caliente Train Depot’s first floor is open to the public, but we got the grand tour. Once again, Rick’s knowledge of the place enhanced the tour significantly. Here was the classy old dining room. Here’s the town library. In here was the old waiting room. Heading up the wooden stairs, he showed us old guest rooms, some of which have been repurposed into rented office space. Don’t tear it down! Preserve it! Renovate, repurpose, reuse! We were impressed.

The Heritage Boxcar Museum, manned by local volunteers, is open mid-March through the end of October for a few hours each day. Check their website for times if you’re interested. It’s worth a stop. If it’s closed, Rick told us to call the number posted. He’s close by and he’ll pop over. How accommodating is that?

Want to camp in the area? The Kershaw-Ryan State Park is nearby. There are parks for picnics, hot springs for soaking, and a small, charming downtown with a couple of restaurants and shops. We’re glad we took the time to learn more about Caliente. Thanks, Rick… you made our day!

Next time, we’re back in Las Vegas helping to break Guinness World Records! Join us.