In the spring of 1974, brothers Pete and Jim Yyson of Newport Beach, California, negotiated a land lease at this site with the Santa Fe Land and Improvement Company that included the original depot, built circa 1894-1895, the 1905 freight house, and the railroad tracks. The depot had lain dormant from 1966 to 1974, and there were no Amtrak stops when construction began. As a direct result of their work, the depot now has about 200 stops a week provided by Metrolink and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and has brought millions of visitors. The Tysons laid an additional 400 feet of track and placed nine rail cars on it: seven boxcars, a Pullman car, and a caboose that had been part of both the Santa Fe Chief and the Santa Fe Super Chief. In 1976, the city of San Juan Capistrano hosted the American Freedom Train on a siding along Los Rios Street during its national Bicentennial tour, and the Tysons were instrumental in making that event possible. Their restoration returned the building to the familiar landmark it is today, with its white depot dome and brick structure offering welcome, warmth, and hospitality for years to come.
