Challenge Overcome — Powerful Pioneering Focus Made Mining Profitable

How Greatest Money Is Delivered — Focus Made Valuable Results Article 3 of a 5-article series.

Introduction

This is article №3 of our 5-article series. We hope you are enjoying reading about V&T and the V&T Heritage Railroad. This article will look at Southern Pacific and the railroad they renamed the Nevada & California Railroad.

We will also look at the Short Branch Line that V&T built. We will see that the railroad declined and the reasons for that. Then the public got excited about heritage railroads, so we will look at rebuilding V&T as a Tourist Line.

To finish this article, we will look at historic equipment used by V&T and Other Locomotives Used by V&T. We are excited to bring this information to the reader. We hope you will read this article, comment, and then stay with us through the rest of the 5-article series.

They renamed the route the Nevada & California Railroad. This allowed Southern Pacific trains to run along the V&T through to Mound House, the Nevada & California, and on down to Tonopah. Southern Pacific offered to buy the Virginia & Truckee, but the V&T officials set their price too high.

Southern Pacific built their line from the closest available intersection with the former C&C. The Southern Pacific line ran 28 miles from Hazen to Fort Churchill and connected their main lines. Southern Pacific could then bypass the V&T. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

V&T Builds Short Branch Line

In 1906, V&T built a short branch line to Minden, about 26 miles south of Carson City. This branch line brought in increased freight traffic. The increase in traffic allowed V&T to purchase three new ten-wheelers from Baldwin: one in 1905, one in 1907, and one in 1913. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Decline of the railroad

In 1924, Virginia and Truckee realized their first year not to make a profit. Mining revenue dropped to deficient levels, though revenue from the Minden line continued to flow. The automobile and expansion of the highway system drove a steady decline in passenger revenue for the railroad.

For example, US 395 ran alongside the V&T from Minden up to Reno. U.S. 50 ran south of Carson City to Mound House and the turnoff to Nevada State Route 17 (later NV 341), the route to Virginia City. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Ogden Livingston Mills was the sole owner of the railroad in 1933. He was the grandson of the co-founder Darius Ogden Mills. He paid the railroad’s operating costs deficits as a nod to the past and his family’s involvement in the beginning days of Virginia City. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

In 1938, Mill’s died, and the railroad went into receivership. The railroad’s management began making plans to cease operations. The Virginia City branch had already closed during that year.

At the time of the railroad’s closure, it had just three locomotives. The second no. 25, and numbers 26 and 27 (all 4–6–0’s built by Baldwin in 1905, 1907, and 1913). Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

№26 was supposed to haul the last train. Instead, the storage shed where it was stored caught fire, and the locomotive was a total loss and got scrapped. The railroad restored no. 27 for the occasion. On May 31, 1950, №27 pulled the Virginia and Truckee’s final train.

Experts believed that act to be rather fitting because №27 was the last engine purchased new by the railroad. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Rebuilding V&T as a Tourist Line

Robert C. Gray, a Virginia City railroad enthusiast who was one of the passengers on the last train to Virginia City in 1938, wanted to rebuild the railroad as a tourist line. He got approval from Storey County. Reconstruction began from F Street to the Eastern portal of Tunnel #4. Work to re-open Tunnel #4 continued and reopened in the late 1980s. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

When workers tried to open Tunnel #3, a large boulder shifted and buried the tunnel. Workers then built a shoofly around the tunnel, opening a valley vista. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

To commemorate the laying down of 2 miles of tracks near Gold Hill, officials with the public Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway held a “silver spike” ceremony in January 2006 in Carson City. The construction, completed in September 2005, was part of an effort to restore the V&T’s mainline from Virginia City to Carson City for operations. The completion of the first phase of the extension saw the last train of the day venturing beyond Gold Hill and to American Flats over a massive fill of the Overman Pit near the Crown Point Ravine. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №29 underwent a significant overhaul and returned to service in June 2008. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

The rebuild of the railroad line from Gold Hill to Carson City was in earnest. In August 2009, the first train ran on the line in 68 years. The ceremonial first run from Virginia City to Mound House (“Carson City Eastgate”) occurred for VIPs.

On the 15th and 16th, the line opened to the public. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Cost estimates for completing the line from Gold Hill to downtown Carson City were more than $55 million. The railroad developed a plan and wanted the line operational in 2012. As of 2022, trains can go as far as Eastgate Station in eastern Carson City. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Historic equipment

Western movies and shows have displayed the locomotives and other Virginia and Truckee railroad equipment. The cinema age (circa 1915) saw V&T run obsolete machines. V&T and others restored many of these locomotives and other railroad pieces. They are on display at museums throughout the country. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

The Nevada State Railroad Museum displays many cars and locomotives in Carson City at the Comstock History Center on C Street in Virginia City. The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg have others. An operating 5/8-scale replica of the V&T locomotive, “Reno,” has run on the Washington Park and Zoo Railway since 1959. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Other Locomotives Used by V&T:

Locomotive №1, Type 2–6–0, Builder H.J. Booth, Built in 1869, Status Under Construction, Remarks The Nevada State Railroad Museum is building a replica. Sorry, there was no picture for this one. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №11, Name Reno, Type 4–4–0, Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works, built in 1872, Status on Display, Remarks Acquired by the V&T in August 2021, Under restoration Was on display at Old Tucson Studios. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №12, Name Genoa, Type 4–4–0, Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works, built 1873, Status on Display, Remarks Owned by the California State Railroad Museum on a two-year loan to the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №13, Name Empire, Type 2–6–0, Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works, built 1873, Status on Display, Remarks. On Display at the California State Railroad Museum. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №18, Name Dayton, Type 4–4–0, Builder C.P.s Sacramento shops, built 1873, Status on Display, Remarks Owned by the Nevada State Railroad Museum. On a two-year loan to the California State Railroad Museum. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Locomotive №20, Name Tahoe, Type 2–6–0, Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works, built 1875, Status on Display, Remarks On display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Virginia and Truckee Railroad. (2023, August 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad

Description Virginia & Truckee “Tahoe,” 1875 — Pennsylvania Railroad Museum Strasburg. Author Bohemianroots. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic, and 1.0 Generic license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RRM_Strasburg_PA_Tahoe_1875.JPG

Conclusion

This article looked at Southern Pacific and the railroad they renamed the Nevada & California Railroad. We also looked at the Short Branch Line that V&T built. We saw how and why the railroad declined.

Then we looked at how the public got excited about heritage railroads and rebuilt V&T as a Tourist Line. To finish this article, we will look at historic equipment used by V&T and other locomotives used by V&T. Please stay with us to finish the story of V&T. We believe that you will be happy you did.

I hope we have presented convincing information about the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. We would love to invite you to visit and take an excursion to check out this exciting place. We hope you enjoyed learning more about the railway and the locomotives that served it or are now serving it.

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