Rare 1968 photo shows a freight office that had changed little over almost three-quarters of a century of service both to the railroad and to the Goleta community.

Here the station agent received train orders, which he typed and delivered to the crews on passing trains. In the early days, train orders arrived from the dispatcher via the clickity-clack of the telegraph; later, a special phone with a dedicated line served the purpose. The freight office had two other phones - a hand-crank box telephone for calling other stations and rail facilities in the area and another for public calls.

A pair of levers were near at hand for controlling the outside train-order boards that signaled whether an approaching train needed to stop at the station for orders or other purposes. Other freight office equipment included an "annunciator" (which warned of approaching trains) and a switchboard for choosing between the short- and long-distance telegraph lines. The station clock on the wall maintained Pacific Standard Time year-round.

Funds collected for depot services were kept here, as were all records pertaining to freight, express, baggage, and passengers. A bank of tariff books provided the vast and ever-changing pricing information that the agent needed to calculate the charges for sending a shipment to a specific destination. The railroad tariff system was complicated because there were different rates for different types of goods and because several rail carriers might be needed to complete a delivery.

1. Pot-bellied stove gave warmth on cold days and could also be used for stove-top cooking.
2. Candlestick phone was one of several Freight Office telephones.
3. Map showed Southern Pacific Railroad routes.
4. Tariff books contained detailed rail shipping costs for different commodities.
5. Agent used the ticket validator to activate a passenger's ticket.
6. Ticket window connected Freight Office with the adjoining Waiting Room.
7. Wall-mounted ticket box is the only original Goleta Depot artifact in the Freight Office.
8. Station clock was always kept on Standard Time.
9. Train dispatcher could get the agent's attention with this loud dispatcher's bell.
10. Crank telephone linked Goleta Depot with other area stations and railroad workplaces.
11. Teletype was an automated replacement for the telegraph.
12. Dark-green window shades were a familiar feature of many depots.
13. Agent heard incoming telegraph messages in the sounder box.
14. The dispatcher's phone had a direct line to the train dispatcher.
15. Typewriter was used by the agent to prepare train orders and depot records.
16. Agent used this telegraph key to send messages.
17. Annunciator alerted agent of approaching trains.
18. These devices were used by the agent to deliver printed orders to crews on passing trains.
19. These levers controlled the train-order boards (on two-story mast in front of depot).
20. Flat-top desk formerly occupied the foreman's office in the Santa Barbara Roundhouse.
21. Visiting public would stand at the long express counter to conduct business with the station agent.
22. Balance scale was used to weigh express packages and other light items.