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Nevada Historical Marker #128
The Great Train Robbery. The West’s first train robbery occurred near this site on the night of November 4, 1870. A gang of men concocted an elaborate scheme to rob the Central Pacific Railroad as the train passed through Verdi. John Chapman traveled to Oakland, California to learn when the train left for Verdi. He telegraphed a coded message to “Sal” Jones in Reno, who alerted five men waiting near Verdi. Two men rode to an area just south of Mogul today, and they placed rocks across the train tracks.When the train stopped in Verdi for the night, the soon-to-be-robbers boarded the train, decoupled the passenger coaches and commandeered the engine, mail and express cars. The gang forced Engineer Henry Small to drive to the blockage, there they tricked the guard to opening the locked express car door. The robbers broke open the strong boxes and divided the $41,600. The men rode off in different directions. All were eventually caught and all but about $3,000 was recovered.
South Verdi Rd, Verdi, NV, United States
Nevada Historical Marker #68
Wadsworth. From 1868 until 1884, the Central Pacific’s Truckee Wadsworth Division was located on this site. In 1882, work was started on a new site across the river, and by 1883, a new roundhouse, shop, and other buildings were completed there. A fire on April 15, 1884, fanned by heavy wind, destroyed the remaining railroad buildings as well as the town. Damage exceeded $100,000. Lack of adequate water contributed to the extensive damage. After another fire in 1902, the railroad planned to move to a new site. In 1904, division facilities moved west to an entirely new location, which became Sparks, Nevada.
Main St, Wadsworth, NV, United States