Kelso is a tiny town in the middle of the Mohave Desert that rose to prominence during WWII. Iron ore from a local mine as well as tanks and war materials were being shipped through the Mohave Desert on the Southern Pacific train line. Because of the heavy loads, “helper engines” were placed here at Kelso to pull and push the trains up the steep incline out of the desert. An abundance of water for the steam engines was the key for placing the station here. After the war and the emergence of the diesel electric locomotive, the station fell into disuse and eventually closed in 1985. Preservationists persisted and the station has become a National Park with a small museum and renovated station. Union Pacific freight trains still muscle their way through the desert floor and up the steep incline on their way east.
Renovated train station now a National Park.
Old Post Office.
This was the jail cell for the drunks
Cafe.
Telegraph office.
Ticket counter
Little girl watching the freights storm by,