The railroad shops was part of an immense complex of railroad-related buildings on Nutt and nearby streets near the Wilmington waterfront. The Sanborn Insurance Map of 1889 shows a long brick building with a framed clerestory as the Wilmington and Weldon shops. It contained a machine shop, blacksmith shop, and foundry. The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, which headed north from the port at Wilmington, was vital to the city’s prosperity from the antebellum era onward. In the 1890s, the W&W became part of the Atlantic Coast Line, which made Wilmington its headquarters for many years; ACL’s departure in 1960 was a severe blow to the city’s economy. The once dense and extensive industrial and railroad related area has lost nearly all of the many buildings that once stood there. Still standing are two brick warehouses of 1880 and 1882. It is possible that Linehan was involved with these or other railroad-related buildings in the area.