[ Whistle blowing ] We are standing in front of the city historic passenger depot, which currently serves as Amtrak's busiest depot in the state of Iowa.

Kohlsdorf: The Osceola Depot, built in 1907 by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, takes visitors on a ride back in time.

It's an important piece of history for our community.

Osceola was founded in 1851, and it was founded as a railway stop.

Kohlsdorf: Restoration of the train station was completed in 2016.

Kedley: This building is almost 90% to 95% historically intact and accurate.

Wheeler: The building we wanted to preserve, but what we wanted to do so in a way that allowed the building to continue to tell its story.

[ Train whistle blows ] Kohlsdorf: Today, the station connects travelers from coast to coast.

Passengers climbing aboard Amtrak's California Zephyr head west to San Francisco or east to Chicago and beyond.

As it arrives in Osceola, the rail line intersects the national north-to-south Jefferson Highway, making the rural Iowa town an unexpected crossroad in the center of the country.

It's just an amazing thing to have the Jefferson Highway going from pines to palms, and the California Zephyr going from California to Washington, D.C.

The nostalgia of having a beautiful two-way highway and a beautiful railroad coming through your community?

I feel we're very lucky to have that.