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Whistle Stop to Our Past
We are located
San Angelo on the Map
Downtown, near the Railway Museum, you can explore the historic Concho Avenue with its unique shops and perhaps catch a show at the San Angelo Performing Arts Center. For a taste of local history beyond trains, a visit Fort Concho National HIsoric Land Mark.
About Us:
Chris Roque
President of the Railway Museum Board
The Railway Museum of San Angelo, established as the Historic-Orient Santa Fe Depot, Inc., is housed in a historic railway depot located in the San Angelo Cultural District. The depot was constructed 1909-1910 as the Texas headquarters of Arthur Stilwell's Kanas City, Mexico, and Orient Railroads (KCM&O). When completed, the KCM&O Railroad would have provided and economical transportation route connecting the lucrative markets of the Orient thought the Mexican port of Topolobampo and via a direct rail line though Texas, including San Angelo , to Kansas.
Instability in the US and Mexico prevented Stilwell for realizing his dream, but the depot remained. The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe Railway company purchased KCM&O, including the depot, in 1928. it became known as the Santa Fe Passenger Depot and served San Angelo until 1985 when rising cost caused the closure of all local passenger and freight operations.
Very few orient structures survived in Texas thus, when Santa Fe announced plans to demolish the depot in the late 1980's, San Angelo citizens initiated a campaign to preserve the building. After years of neglect, they restored the depot to its original stately presence. Today the depot houses the Railway Museum of San Angelo, which was established in 1996 and formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2007.
Linda Bond
Vice President of the Railway Museum Board
Dr. Linda Thorsen Bond is author of San Angelo and Arthur Stilwell’s Dream,
San Angelo A to Z: A Young Reader’s Guide and Saving the Oldest Town in Texas.
She has written for publications including Western Art & Architecture, Texas Monthly and Texas Highways. She has written and produced 25 historic plays including Arthur Stilwell’s Dream of Steam and Roses for Santa Rita at the Railway Museum. Her television documentary “Hot Time in the Old Town” won two national Telly Awards for people’s choice and historical production.
Elizabeth Curtis
Treasurer of the Railway Museum Board
Life in San Angelo has offered unexpected opportunities for connection and purpose after a journey filled with diverse experiences. Finding joy in my role as a Railway Museum Tour Guide has allowed me to embrace my new home and build meaningful ties within the community.