Winslow, AZ (WLO)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$515,474

Station Ridership

FY 2011

5,399

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Winslow depot was constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company in 1930. Like many of the other stations constructed by the ATSF around this same time, the Winslow station was constructed to also serve as a Harvey House hotel and restaurant. It was designed by master architect, Mary Colter in the stucco Spanish hacienda style. In 1929, construction costs for the illustrious depot and La Posada Hotel (“the resting place”) were estimated to be around $1,000,000, while furnishings for the establishment and surrounding grounds are estimated to have cost approximately $2,000,000.

During its earliest years, the depot was constantly active. Aside from the hotel and depot themselves, Albuquerque divisional offices for the railroad were located inside the depot and the grounds featured cattle pens, a large car yard, and the first diesel roundhouse in America. As transportation modes shifted in the American culture to the automobile and airplane, the depot and town felt the effects. La Posada was closed in 1959 due to low ridership on the Santa Fe and the depot was closed to the general public. The Santa Fe then moved divisional offices and dispatchers into the building, where they stayed until the early 1990s.

In 1994 the former La Posada Foundation helped secure investment funding to reopen. The result was a renovated hotel that included 70 restored hotel rooms with air conditioning and heat, a ballroom, gift shop, dining room and gardens.

In recognition of its architect and the restoration, La Posada has been featured in numerous magazines, television shows, movies and documentaries.

The city of Winslow is every bit as famous as its station. Located in Navajo County, the land was first settled in 1880, purportedly by a hotel entrepreneur, and a U.S. Post Office was established there by 1882. The area was officially incorporated as a city in 1900 and was named after Edward Winslow, the president of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad.

Until the 1960s, Winslow was the largest town in northern Arizona because of its location on Route 66. The building of I-40 in the 1970s, a transcontinental highway, bypassed this town and Winslow felt the effects. The reopening of La Posada rejuvenated the downtown.

Winslow is centrally located to the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, Homolovi Ruins State Park and Clear Creek Reservoir, making it a frequented tourist area. Within Winslow itself there are several points of interest including the Old Trails Historical Museum, opened in 1985, and located in a circa 1920 bank where the exhibits feature Route 66 memorabilia, local Native American artifacts, and La Posada Hotel and Santa Fe Railway artifacts.

Winslow’s most recent claim to fame, however, came from the Eagles’ song “Take It Easy”. In honor of their inclusion in the song and the interest it brought to Winslow, a park named the “Standin’ on the Corner” park (after a line in the song) is a frequented tourist attraction within the town. The former La Posada Foundation is now named the Standin’ on the Corner Foundation.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility. The station lobby is opened by employees of La Posada.

Winslow is served by two daily trains.