An enclosed wooden round house was constructed here in 1868 to house and maintain the engines of the Central Pacific Railroad during construction of the Trans-Sierra Crossing. Fire razed it in March 1869, and a 16 stall wooden structure was built that year as the maintenance facility of the C.P.R.R. Truckee Division. Another fire in 1876 led to construction of a 22 stall granite and wooden structure, which served through 1942, when it was officially retired as steam-era operations ended and maintenance was consolidated at other locations. The round houses were home to helper engines, fire trains, and the first rotary snow plow in the Sierra.