Tribune/Debra Reid - Former Sparks Judge Larma Volk savors the railroad club car parlor on display in downtown Sparks. The car, engine and caboose were open to the public during Thursday's Sparks Farmers Market.
Tribune/Debra Reid - "Conductor John" Hartman explained the history of the Houston Club Car built in 1911 by the Pullman Company. Hartman has been guardian and promoter of the Sparks railroad display for eight years.
Tribune/Debra Reid - Sparks Heritage Museum volunteer Sandra Bernie found old plates in the galley of the railroad club car on display in downtown Sparks.
“It’s just really great to be able to show people this great treasure we have here,” Hartman said. “This (the train) is the heritage of our town. It’s a symbol of Sparks.”
Hartman said that the train has been neglected for many years and he hopes to some day be able to restore it.
“It was already refurbished once in 1975, but we’ll like to restore it to how it originally looked,” Hartman said.
Visitors were able to view the train’s club car, which Hartman said was used by the superintendent of the railroad. The Houston Club Car consists of a parlor, several bedrooms and a small kitchen.
The train’s caboose was used by the train crew and was described as their “home away from home.”
The train, called the City of Sparks Train, was operated by the Southern Pacific Co. and was originally built in 1911.
“We don’t know exactly how long the train was used, but we do know it was for a long time,” Hartman said.
Hartman said opening the train to the public was a kind of preview to “get everyone interested.”
Only recently did Hartman learn that the Sparks Heritage Museum is responsible for maintaining the train. Since then, he has logged several hours cleaning and maintaining the train.
“Now, we’re going to jump right in,” Hartman said. “I brought my son up here for a couple of weeks and we probably spent about 24 hours cleaning up the train.”
“It’s nice to see what it really did look like,” said Rose Moratti, who was vacationing from Marquette, Mich. “You can really get an idea of how people traveled back then.”
Corinna Nesborn of Sparks brought her two children to see the train.
“I’ve wanted to see the inside of this for so long,” Nesborn said. “When we saw in the paper that it was going to be open, I had to get down here. I think it’s really important to find out more about your local history.”
Hartman hopes that he will be able to open the train for public viewing again this winter or next summer.
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