Railroad Scale House and Telephone Booth
Railroad yards are highly specialized facilities consisting of engine maintenance buildings, fueling areas, track and switching areas and material storage yards.
This scale house was used in the Santa Fe Railroad switchyard in Bakersfield. A scale located adjacent to the building weighed train cars to determine the amount of freight and total weight of a train. Railroads charged a fee to haul freight based on weight. Knowing the total weight of a train was necessary to ensure a locomotive could safely move cars along the track.
This circular concrete telephone booth was located along the Southern Pacific Railroad crossing at Chester Avenue near 34th Street. Railroad telephone booths were found at stragetic locations, such as spurs, siding switches and road crossings.
Santa Fe Railroad donated the scale house in 1963. Southern Pacific Railroad donated the concrete telephone booth in 1977.
Marker can be reached from Chester Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
