From Art Fisher’s web site 'Southern Pacific Transportation Company Depots, Freight Houses, and Line-side Structures' (
visit link) the Lebanon Depot is a Southern Pacific Common Standard No. 23 depot.
From the Linn County Historical Museum web page, located at the link below - The Santiam Travel Station is the former Southern Pacific Railroad depot in Lebanon. The Albany-Lebanon Railroad was completed in September 1880, and a depot was built north of Sherman Street. In October 1880, the railroad was taken over by the Oregon & California Railroad. On May 12, 1887, the Southern Pacific Railroad took over the Oregon & California Railroad. A new depot was built in 1908, to Southern Pacific’s design number 23. This is the depot that is now the Santiam Travel Station.
In 1910, the Southern Pacific began building across the South Santiam River to connect to another line to Detroit and Idanha. This line would be cut back to Gates, just past Mill City, with the completion of the Detroit Dam in 1952. In 1930, the Oregon Electric built a line from Lebanon south to Sweet Home and Foster. This line was completely disconnected from the rest of the railroad, and the Oregon Electric used the Southern Pacific’s line between Albany and Lebanon to access it. The Oregon Electric became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, which became the Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 1995.
In 1984, the Southern Pacific depot in Lebanon closed. It had been many, many years since passenger trains had served Lebanon, but the depot had still served as an office for an agent to handle freight business. In March of 1993, the Willamette Valley Railway leased the line from Albany to Mill City from the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific), and in May of 1998, the line to Sweet Home was purchased from BNSF. The railroad has operated as the Albany & Eastern Railroad since 2000. For more information about the Albany & Eastern Railroad, see Brian McCamish’s web site (
visit link)
The Lebanon depot is one of two Southern Pacific No. 23 depots in Oregon remaining in its original location. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1997. It was renovated into the Santiam Travel Station through a two-phase project funded by the City of Lebanon, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Federal Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century. Phase I of the project took place from July 1998 to February 1999, and consisted of foundation work, a new roof, plumbing, siding, paint, an HVAC system and lobby restoration at a cost of $554,000, $122,000 of which came from the city. Phase II was completed from February 2003 to October 2003, and consisted of site improvements like landscaping, sidewalks, an ADA ramp, a deck, a bicycle rack, benches & parking, and converting the freight section of the depot into a finished public meeting space with three meeting rooms, a kitchen and restrooms, at a cost of $528,000, $69,000 of which came from the city. With the completion of Phase II, the Santiam Travel Station was dedicated on October 22, 2003. The Santiam Travel Station also got a new coat of paint in October 2006. It is now cared for by the Lebanon City Parks Department, and is used as a council chambers and community center. [end of narrative]
Located just north of the depot is the hulk of an old ALCO PA diesel electric locomotive. Information about this type of locomotive is available on Wikipedia here (
visit link)