La Junta, CO (LAJ)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$641,132

Station Ridership

FY 2011

6,653

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

In 1895, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF Railway) built an elaborate multi-purpose, three-story sandstone and frame passenger depot and Harvey House and hotel (El Otero) about two blocks long. El Otero is still listed as one of the chain’s more notable structures, though it closed in 1948. The entire complex was demolished and rebuilt in the mid 1950s as the current one-story flat-roofed brick structure.

La Junta (the junction or meeting place in Spanish), the seat of Otero County, is located on the plains of southeast Colorado along the Arkansas River. Prior to the coming of American settlers, the area had been a rich grazing land for buffalo. In 1833, William and Charles Bent established Bent’s Fort near present-day La Junta on the Santa Fe Trail. For forty years, Bent’s Fort remained an import outpost for travelers, trappers and explorers.

By 1875 a small settlement was established to build the railroad, and what would become La Junta began as a construction camp for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. After the railroad moved on in 1877, this shanty-town was nearly forsaken. However, the ATSF recognized the value of the location and built a depot and roundhouse there and in 1879 established the railroad shops in the same place. La Junta became the headquarters for the ATSF Colorado division.

Its economic viability assured, the town incorporated in 1881 under Colorado state laws. Settlers from Kansas and elsewhere came in 1885 and afterwards to farm and ranch. Northern Otero County is still home to renowned melon crops as well as very large cattle commissions.

During World War II, the Army Air Force located a training base outside La Junta; that airport is still in service.

Today, the museum at Bent’s Fort, now the Koshare Indian Museum is regarded as one of the finest collections of Native American artifacts in the world. The Otero Museum preserves the town’s history and pre-history.

The facility has a waiting room and is staffed by Amtrak employees.

The station is served daily by two trains.