The view looks down the Central Pacific Railroad track from inside a wooden snow shed near Cisco, Placer County, California, published by Thomas Houseworth & Co. of San Francisco as number 1252 in their Central Pacific Railroad series. Thomas Houseworth & Co. was one of the leading photographic publishers on the Pacific Coast during the 1860s and 1870s, awarded a Bronze Medal at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867 for the superiority of their stereoscopic and mammoth views of Pacific Coast scenery.

The composition is shot from track level looking toward the open far end of the shed, with massive timber uprights lining both sides and snow-laden debris visible along the roadbed. A second snow shed structure is visible in the middle distance, and patches of snow accumulate at the base of the uprights and between the ties. The diagonal shed roof framing is visible overhead, and scattered boards lie across the foreground ballast.

The Central Pacific snow sheds were constructed through the Sierra Nevada beginning in 1867 to protect the line from the extreme winter snowpack that repeatedly blocked the transcontinental route at high elevation. The reverse of the orange-mounted card bears the Houseworth award advertisement printed in dark ink on pink stock, referencing the Paris 1867 medal and the studio address at 317 and 319 Montgomery Street. The front mount reads "Central Pacific Railroad" vertically in red serif lettering, and the caption below the right image reads "1252. Snow Sheds on the Central Pacific Railroad, near Cisco, Placer County."