Ahead of the Golden Spike's 150th anniversary, a story of a rail depot artist's nearly lost paintings.

Two paintings by John A. McQuarrie, showing moments in the history of the transcontinental railroad, will be part of an exhibition opening Friday, May 3, at Anne Jespersen Fine Arts in Helper, Utah. The exhibition is one of many events in Utah marking the 150th anniversary of the driving of the "golden spike." (Images by John A. McQuarrie, courtesy of Zions Bank.)

John A. McQuarrie may not be a familiar painter to you, unless you spend a lot of time in old railroad depots. His works can be found at stations in Salt Lake City, Houston, Sacramento, Mesa, Palo Alto and Salinas.

A pair of large works McQuarrie apparently did as studies for a larger mural will go on display at an art gallery in Helper, Utah, starting Friday night, May 3. The exhibition is one of the events in “Spike 150,” the state of Utah’s massive celebration of the sesquicentennial of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah.

How those paintings were found — and, at the same time, nearly destroyed — is a great yarn, one I got to hear and relay into this story in sltrib.com. Enjoy.