In February 1926, the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Southern Pacific officials for their desire for a new depot in Susanville. It was their opinion that they had been short changed since day one. After all, the depots in Litchfield and Westwood were three times the size of Susanville. In their plea, the Chamber wrote:
”Susanville wants a new station and not a makeshift addition to the present one. It is recommended that this new station be of native wood with cedar logs for columns and its construction and architecture be typical of a lumbering community. In other words, the town does not want the stereotypical production of yellow stations which are turned out like so many sausages or tin lizzies. It wants something distinctive and judging by the amount of business in sight, as the cinnamon bear said to the cinnamon bun, ‘I don’t see why we should not have one.’”
The Chamber put forth a strong argument, stating just the growth warranted such. The population had swelled to over 20,000 and prior to the railroad was only 4,000. The Chamber cited how inadequate the current depot in handling freight, citing numerous problems. The Chamber went on:
”Passenger Needs: Passengers require a new and separate passenger station. We believe that such a station should be built with the idea of the rate at which Susanville is growing and adequate for traffic needs not only for the present but for the next five years at least. We believe further that in-so-far as consistent with the general policy of the Southern Pacific, that such a station should be designed to meet the peculiar climatic conditions of the city which in this respect is so radically different than most cities of California.
“We believe these requests are reasonable and feasible and that they are justified by the volume of traffic. We request your earnest and earliest consideration of them.”
A month later, Southern Pacific officials arrived to make an inspection after the receipt of the Chamber’s letter. They took the matter under advisement. Later in the year, they announced they would build an addition to the depot, by extending the depot by 75 feet. It continued with the same buff (yellowish) color typical of Southern Pacific depots. If it was of any consolation, at least it was not a typical Southern Pacific depot.