Was and is a railroad siding. Although the book Nevada Post Offices claims that "Massie siding" is not Massie, (which NPO claims is supposed to be about 18 miles NE of Wadsworth) Nevada Place Names claims it is the place. On the other hand, Hot Springs Flat is in the general area Nevada Post Offices claims Massie is, and Hot Springs is one of the names the post office there used to go by. So where is it, really? NPO, or NPN? It's a mystery. We're going with the railroad siding, because the USGS map says so.
The Massie name features prominently in the news of the era, but I can't find any references as to which Massie the site may be named after.
It save the folks in Fallon a bit of travel time.
The people of Fallon, Churchill county, now take the Central Pacific trains at the new station of Massey, instead of Wadsworth. The distance from Fallon s but sixteen miles, while it is thirty-two miles to Wadsworth. The mail will go from Massey to Fallon as soon as the department can make the change.
-Yerington Times, February 28, 1903
Then they decided, hey why not bring it in all the way? But it comes into Fallon from Hazen instead.
RAILROAD TO FALLON
First Steps Taken To Have A Road Built
The first steps towards building a railroad into Fallon from the main line of the Southern Pacific were taken last Saturday at a meeting of several of Churchill county's prominent citizens, in the office of the county clerk. Charles Krutschitt, son of General Manager Krutschitt, of the Southern Pacific addressed the meeting. The scheme is to build a standard gauge road from Massie to Fallon, a distance of fifteen miles, eventually to extend to the great salt marsh, thus traveling nearly the entire length of the country in agricultural pursuits and destined to be the population center of Nevada.
-The Daily Appeal, April 21, 1904
The Standard says the country over which the proposed railroad from Massie to Fallon will be constructed is level as a billiard table, requiring no cuts or fills of importance and tie planting and track laying can be prosecuted at a rapid rate.
-Reno Evening Gazette, June 1, 1904
SECTION HOUSE ROBBERS ARE CAUGHT AT HAZEN
A telegram received this morning by M. J. Hewitt, special Southern Pacific agent at Sparks, states that Roy Harris and Harold Mark ley were arrested yesterday while in the act of robbing the Massive section house a few miles east of Hazen.
Reno Evening Gazette, August 14, 1913
Centralized Train Control System Is Started by S. P.
Project Costing $1,500,000 to Speed Traffic on Single Track East of Sparks
Centralized train control between Sparks and Massie station is planned as a $1,500,000 project by the Southern Pacific company and work on the program is under way, it was announced in Sparks Tuesday by L. P. Hopkins, division superintendent from Ogden, Utah, and C. H. Grant, assistant superintendent of Sparks. Operating efficiency will be increased sixty per cent over that single-track portion of the railroad extending forty-three miles, Hopkins said. All train movements between Sparks and Massie will be controlled by a chief dispatcher in a building to be erected in the small park just east of the manifest office and the hospital in the Sparks yards. Train orders will be eliminated by the new system. Positions of all trains between the two points will be outlined by lights on an electric panel in the dispatcher's office. From that office, signals on the line will be controlled electrically and trains will be switched to sidings in favor of other trains according to importance of arriving at the destination at a given time. The project calls for the laying of new track on sidings in addition to other materials, Hopkins said. Necessary materials are arriving for the work now and will continue to arrive for the next forty-five days, he reported.
-Reno Evening Gazette, November 17, 1943
Although I have seen a reference that this local was also referred to as "Zelda" and "Hot Springs," I'm thinking "No." That was more likely Brady Hot Springs, 13 some odd miles to the north.
There was a considerable amount of ruins and debris at Massie, which we found surprising. Many ruins, foundations, concrete clocks, and a large array of cans, glass, and the like scattered over a large area.
Be advised that Massie is right next to the railroad tracks. Railroad tracks are used by trains. Trains hurt. They aren't expecting anyone out here, and are moving very fast. We saw several range cows, the remains of which had been hit by trains. The moral of this story is, respect trains, stop, look, and listen before going near a track.