By 1872, shop managers at Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops realized that more space was needed for painting than was available in the wing of the planing mill that was being used at the time. The new paint shop was erected to the east of Car Shop No. 3 aligned parallel to it. The main building was 70 by 265 feet, with five parallel wings on the east side, each 70 by 20 feet. Unlike many of the buildings at the Sacramento Shops, the paint shop – through several reincarnations – survived until the Shops were closed in 1999. Check out the plans of this massive building.
