History of Litchfield Station
First There Was Litchfield Junction
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber company began growing cotton for tire
cord in the Phoenix AZ area in the early 1900s. Bill Litchfield, a relative
of the Chairman of the Board at the time was sent out to run the operation. Bill
built a city for the workers (the beginnings of the current city of Goodyear)
and a place for the managers (now called Litchfield Park).
The Litchfield Branch of the Southern Pacific left the Phoenix division mainline in Goodyear at Litchfield Junction, as shown in this aerial photo of the Goodyear-Phoenix airport. The mainline runs from the center right of the photo to the lower left. The branch runs due north from the WYE just above the white lettering. This 5.4 mile branch was used for loading cotton and taking the executives to Litchfield Park where their business cars were parked. CLICK HERE for a map.
Then There Was Litchfield Depot
A depot was erected about 1/4 mile east of Litchfield Junction (just off the right side of the aerial photo above) and called Litchfield.
This depot served the Southern Pacific railroad for many years. It was abandoned and sold and moved. (Thanks to Gary Gelzer for this historic photo - click on it to enlarge.)
The picture above shows Litchfield Depot as it was in 2001. It was moved to a farmer's field a few miles west of its original location and used as a warehouse!
Now There Is Litchfield Station
Since Bruce & Linda's residence is about a mile west of the terminus (Litchfield Park) of the Litchfield Branch, we decided that the name had a nice ring and decided to use it for our business (with the appropriate D.B.A. from the Arizona Secretary of State). Since depot refers to a physical building and station refers to a stop, we decided to use Litchfield Station. For most of our customers, we are a stop along the internet, not a physical presence.
We are now located in commercial space in Avondale, closer to Litchfield Junction and the original Litchfield Depot. But that's another story . . .
The Story:
Bruce started Litchfield Station in 2001 to do a few decoder installations. He operated the business out of his and Linda's residences in the Phoenix area (winter) and near Flagstaff (summer). Adding DCC related items increased the business over the years.
Then, in 2006, Linda broke her foot and was unable to continue working on ladders (she was a professional faux finisher and muralist). Bruce needed help and talked Linda into joining him in the business.
In 2007, Bruce and Linda sold their summer home near Flagstaff and moved Litchfield Station into commercial quarters in Avondale, near their (now year-around) home.
As the business grew, folks were added. By April of 2008, we had a team of seven supplying your needs. We had enlarged from 875 square feet to over 2200 square feet. All thanks to our loyal customer base.
For the real history buff:
Here is a collection of letters and documents relating to the depot. It is about 5 megabyte PDF file!