Car Shop No. 3 plans and photos added to Sacramento Shops pages

Car Shop No 3, east side, looking southwest. Photograph by Jet Lowe.

Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops Car Shop No. 3, which began as an extension of the Planing Mill, saw drastic changes in function throughout its existence. By the time the shop closed in 1999, the building was a mixture of materials and designs from two centuries. The eastern wall was the original 1872 masonry that survived the 1916 fire. The sections created by the addition of fire walls had each been modified to create entirely different spaces in an area that was once 15 identical bays. Altered support structure, windows, and extensions demonstrate how changing needs affected the building’s architecture. Check out our page of plans and photos.

Southern Pacific Sacramento Shops Blacksmith Shop Plans Added

Blacksmith shop, north end, looking south. Photo by Jet Lowe.

Originally built in 1869, the blacksmith shop was 60 by 150 feet in size. Within a year, the blacksmith shop was enlarged by adding a 167 by 90 foot addition. Housing everything surrounding the forging of wrought iron, by 1880, there were 50 forges, two furnaces, and a trip hammer and other metal-shaping machinery in operation in the blacksmith shop. Check out our page with a historical overview, six detailed photos and five delineated plans.