Cache has been moved due to homeless drug users taking over area. NEW COORDINATES: N39°32.083' W119° 45.158'. Slightly smaller container.
This cache is dedicated to my father, who worked as an engineer with the SPRR for 44 years. He fired the 4294 Cab Forward Mallet out of the old roundhouse, before it was dismantled in 1959, to Imlay after it was retired off of Donner Pass.
Southern Pacific 4294 was the last steam locomotive ordered new by Southern Pacific Railroad. It was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in March 1944, and was used hauling SP's trains over the Sierra Nevada, often working on Donner Pass in California. Its most distinguishing feature was that the cab and firebox were at the front of the locomotive instead of the traditional rear. This was done essentially by running a 2-8-8-4 machine backwards with myriad modifications. The engineer and fireman swapped sides and faced away from the firebox. The tender was moved to behind the "new" locomotive back to improve forward vision. The smoke box end coupling was strengthened. The power reverse lever (Johnson Bar) and the steam throttle motion direction was reversed. The drive wheel axles are reversed, end for end, without rekeying the return "fly" cranks, to reverse the expansion link timing on both sides. This specific SP design was a necessity in the long tunnels and snow sheds of Donner Pass and other mountainous regions where it kept smoke, heat, and soot away from the operating crew and offered them clean, cool air to breathe. It also provided the crew a superb view. It entered service on March 19, 1944, and was retired from active service on March 5, 1956. It is now on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
Nevada State Historical Marker No. 189 "Southern Pacific Railroad Yards" During the summer of 1904, the SPRR terminal was moved to this location, which became the town of Sparks. A forty stall roundhouse, machine and erecting shops, and maintenance building were all in this area. The maching/maintenance building is still standing on the south-side of the freeway.
There's lots of parking on Victorian and on 7th Street between In-N-Out Burger and the VW machine shop.