NEEDLES RAILROAD DEPOT
The Colorado River had a great history with its flotilla of
river boats, there were 15 paddle wheel boats on the river
from 1851 to 1909. It was the building of the railroads in the
1880s that started the great western land rush. At one time
the price for a ticket from the Mississippi River west was
$5.00 on the Santa Fe. It was in 1913 when Needles obtained
the Transcontinental Highway, Highway 66, the same year
the town was incorporated. The Santa Fe adopted the pull-
man car but had no use for the dining cars. The trains made
three stops a day at the chain of Harvey Houses that were
located in the depots across the west. It was said that one
never got a bad cup of coffee at a Harvey House. Today these
are a thing of the past along with the ornated depots that
were the vogue in the late 1800s. Stations of this period were
considered a status symbol by the local chamber of com-
merce... M.P.
C-233
Photo-color by Merle Porter
& published by Royal Pictures, Colton, California
S-77564
197
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