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Wabuska Railroad Station
Photo by Terri McBride,
Courtesy of Nevada State Historic Preservation Office |
The Wabuska Railroad Station was erected in 1906 by the Southern Pacific
Railroad as a freight and passenger station serving the Mason Valley region
of Lyon County, Nevada. Early rail service to Wabuska was operated by
the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company, until 1900, when the Southern
Pacific Railroad purchased the company. During the early 1900s, the Wabuska
region served as the principal supplier of agricultural products for the
mining camps of Tonopah and Goldfield. Increased freight traffic between
Wabuska and the neighboring mining camps coupled with the discovery of
copper ore in the Mason Valley prompted the Southern Pacific to erect
a new depot in Wabuska. By August 1906, a crew of eight Southern Pacific
carpenters were working on the new station, which opened for business
by October. From 1910 to 1947, Wabuska also served as the transfer point
for the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad, a major carrier of copper ore.
The depot is a single story, wood-frame building, 24 feet wide by
80 feet long with a gable roof, the eaves of which project several feet
from the exterior walls. This overhang is supported by brackets. A large
bay window on one side of the building originally housed the ticket
office, while the other three sides contained sliding freight doors.
The interior of the depot was divided into three rooms; the south half
of the building accommodated freight, the center contained the ticket
office, and the northern end served as the passenger waiting room. The
station is typical of early 20th-century Nevada depot architecture,
one of the few examples in the state today, and one of the last two
surviving stations of the Hazen to Mina branch of the Southern Pacific
Railroad. Of the seven stations constructed to serve this branch, only
the Wabuska and a freight station in Mina survive. The Wabuska remained
in active service until declining freight and passenger service forced
the station to close in 1979. Instead of demolishing the vacant depot,
the Southern Pacific donated it to the Nevada State Railroad Museum.
In 1983, the depot was moved to the museum complex in Carson City and
restored.
The Wabuska Railroad Station is located at the Nevada State Railroad
Museum, on Hwy. 395 (Carson St.) at Fairview Ave. in Carson City. The
museum is open to the public 8:30am to 4:30pm daily; there is a fee
for adult admission. For further information or for special events check
the museum's website
or call 775-687-6953.
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