The station was a mixture of Richardsonian Romanesque, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Moderne styles.

The station served Southern Pacific passenger trains that ran on the San Joaquin Valley Route, including the San Joaquin Daylight, Sacramento Daylight, Owl Limited, and West Coast.

It is currently used as an office building and crew change center by Union Pacific.

Bakersfield was the logical stop for the railroad, but a land dispute had developed between the town and Southern Pacific.

[5] Union Pacific replaced the offices in the station with a separate building nearby in 2021.

[6] Plans for two new rail systems have been proposed, both considering a future stop in East Bakersfield, near the station.

Kern County has been studying the possibility of a future regional commuter rail system.