Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop
National Register of Historic Places

Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop

Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
Listed
May 8, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
83001120

About this property

The Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop was built by the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway in 1889 in Reno, Nevada. The railroad was organized in Reno in June 1880 as the Nevada and Oregon Railroad. It was decided that the best plan was to build north to the Columbia River to serve cattle ranches and farms in northeastern California and eastern Oregon. The company decided to lay narrow-gauge track because it was cheaper than standard gauge construction. It became one of the longest narrow-gauge railroads in the United States. The building consists of the original locomotive house/machine shop and an addition. The locomotive house was built in 1889, and the addition was built in the 1940s. The building is one story, rectangular in shape and is built of brick. The locomotive house was used to store the narrow-gauge steam locomotives. When the railroad built a new roundhouse in the mid-1910s, the locomotive house was converted into a machine shop. In 1917, the railroad was sold to the Western Pacific Railroad (WP). Because the WP could not use the narrow-gauge terminal facilities such as the roundhouse and machine shop, it either sold them or leased them. The machine shop was leased to the Crane Plumbing Company for use as a warehouse and plumbing supply. The WP built the addition to the existing machine shop in the 1940s. In 1963, the Crane Company left and the WP leased the building to other tenants. In 1973, the WP sold the building. It has remained in private hands ever since. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places due to its association with the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway and the railroad development in Nevada.

Location

401 E. 4th St.
Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
39.53140, -119.80862

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot
Civil War
0.1 mi
Reno Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Industrial
0.2 mi
Billinghurst, Benson Dillon, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Pincolini Hotel
Industrial
0.4 mi
Rainier Brewing Company Bottling Plant
Civil War
0.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop listed on the National Register?

Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop?

Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop?

The period of significance for Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Locomotive House and Machine Shop is recorded as the civil_war era.

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