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Sacramento's Southern Pacific Shops

Sacramentos Southern Pacific Shops
$24.99

AUTOGRAPHED COPIES!

For over 100 years, this massive complex kept the Central Pacific and its corporate successor, the Southern Pacific, operating smoothly.

In 1862, the Central Pacific Railroad was founded and began building eastward from Sacramento as part of the transcontinental railroad. This required a shop capable of keeping the railroad's equipment in running order. In 1867, in the swamps just north of town, the Sacramento shops were born.

For many decades, the complex was the largest employer in the Sacramento area, employing carpenters, painters, draftsmen, boilermakers, electricians, clerks, upholsterers, and others. Employees designed, built, and maintained locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and other railroading equipment. The complex closed in 1999. Most of the area, popularly known as the Railyards, is set for redevelopment. The California State Railroad Museum handles maintenance and restoration of its collection in two of the shops buildings and plans to develop a Railroad Technology Museum on the site.

SKU: 393
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