In 2001, the historic Goleta Depot celebrated its 100th anniversary. The construction of the community landmark was only one of a long series of events leading up to the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Coast Route linking Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The chronologies on the following pages trace those events, as well as outlining other aspects of the Goleta Depot story.
1. The Railroad Arrives In Santa Barbara County
2. Completion Of The Coast Route, 1887-1901
3. Goleta Depot: The Southern Pacific Years, 1901-1975
4. A New Chapter: Goleta Depot, 1975-present
References
Coombs, Gary B.
Goleta Depot: The History of a Rural Railroad Station. Institute For American Research, 1982.
Dunscomb, Guy L.
A Century of Southern Pacific Steam Locomotives. Guy Dunscomb, 1963 (Reprinted by The Train Shop, 1984).
Lawler, Nan
“Closing The Gap: The Coast Line and its Bridges in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties,” Railroad History, Bulletin 145, Autumn 1981, pp. 87-105 (Reprinted by Institute for American Research, 1984 and 1990).
Myrick, David
“Santa Barbara County Railroads: A Centennial History,” Noticias (Journal of the Santa Barbara Historical Society), Vol. 33 (1987), pp. 22-71.
Signor, John
Southern Pacific’s Coast Line. Signature Press, 1994.
Bruce Morden conducted much of the research upon which this chronology is based.