After patiently waiting to meet the HRICBAR just south of town, BNSF 6344 charges into Shafter with a Q train on the drawbar. In the foreground, the 101-year-old Santa Fe depot still stands wearing a resplendent coat of relatively new paint that it was given in June of 2013. It was opened for use in October 11, 1917, and served as Shafter's gateway to the world, transporting mail, Western Union telegrams, and express, freight, and rail passengers. The building was donated by the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Co. to the Shafter Historical Society in 1980. It was moved to its current site (four blocks northwest of its original site) and dedicated as a museum on October 9, 1982.
