Southern Pacific Railroad Yards

Photo courtesy of Carleen Clark

Soon after 1900, laborers reworked some 373 miles of the original Central Pacific (now the Southern Pacific) line between Reno and Ogden, Utah.  The effort involved shortening the line in some places.  One such change took Wadsworth (Nevada), a division terminal, off the main line.  During the summer of 1904, the terminal was moved to this location, which became the town of Sparks.

The railroad dismantled a huge forty-stall locomotive roundhouse in 1959.  The machine and erecting shops are still standing.

Had it not been for the railroad yards being moved here, the City of Sparks would not exist.

STATE HISTORIC MARKER NO.  189

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

STAN AARONSON, BSA