Mile 717.6 from San Francisco
The railroad siding at Romola was built in 1899 to meet increased rail traffic and the needs of local ranchers. The railroad was used by ranchers and cowboys as a way to move the cattle they raised to market . With the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, it became possible to transport these cattle to eastern market, which had developed a taste for beef at aa time when the effects of the Civil War had depleted eastern herds.
The bridge just west of Romola Siding (pictured) is a good, surviving example of a single stringer trestle with large wooden wings. To the east of Romola is a wooden trestle bridge. When first built, in the rush to get to Promontory and complete the railroad, many of these bridges were laid on simple timber sills. The subsequent work of "piling" was carried out by many Chinese section gangs. Piling entailed digging deep holes for wooden foundations poles. Without these, the bridges were prone to wash out when heavy rains fell. Piles were also supported by "riprap" (rocks, boulders, used boiler bricks, and other trash) to reduce under cutting.
Southern Pacific track plats indicate that a loading platform and a train car body were located at Romola, but there was no settlement.
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