V & T back in steam...

www.livingsteam.com/virginiatruckee.html

VIRGINIA TRUCKEE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOLDS TOWN HALL MEETING, THEN RIDES A STEAM TRAIN

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, the Virginia Truckee Railroad Historical Society held its second monthly meeting at the Ramada Hotel in Virginia City, Nevada.

Over thirty members held a Q&A session with Kevin Ray, Project Coordinator for the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway. Carson City Mayoral Candidate Sean Lehmann then took the floor and addressed his opposition to the funding mechanisms used to finance the project.

VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD

This government project is separate from the privately held Virginia and Truckee Railroad, founded by Bob Gray nearly 40 years ago. Today Tom Gray and his employees Ed, Chuck, Jerry, Jared, Norman and Don made history. The #29 steam locomotive made it's successful return to revenue service after an absence of many years.

CROWDS LINED THE TRACKS, JUST LIKE IN 1950

During testing over the last few days, and especially during today's run, crowds of Virginia City residents lined the track to welcome the steam whistle back to Virginia City. It made me think of the crowds that lined the track for the original V&T abandonment in 1950. This was a much happier occasion.

ANOTHER RAILFAN EXCURSION FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

On hand to experience the first revenue ride behind steam in years were 24 members of the Virginia Truckee Railroad Historical Society, who were provided with a free ride courtesy of group founder Jim Lohse and V&T Railroad owner/Director Tom Gray. The event was a Meet'N'Greet with Ramada Hotel Manager Shara Bouvier, who provided refreshments at the meeting and joined the group for the train ride.

We didn't know until the last minute that we'd be riding behind a steam train, and we were proud and elated to be a part of living history, or, as I call it, LIVING STEAM!

Steam's Back at the Virginia and Truckee Railroad -- come on up and be part of the ride!

Photos and video will be available within a few days, stay tuned for the next meeting announcement from the VTRRHS.

To join the mailing list for this notification please email history@livingsteam.com. Thanks.

Virginia and Truckee Railroad, Virginia City, Nevada -- http://www.virginiatruckee.html
Virginia and Truckee Railroad Historical Society -- http://www.livingsteam.com
Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway -- http://www.vtrailway.com

 

V&T Railway making miles of progress



By Karren Rhodes • editor@daytoncourier.com • July 2, 2008


It's a tourism draw that has been about a decade and a half in the making, but now there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel -- literally.

The reconstruction of the V&T Railroad is making significant progress as was revealed during a recent meeting and subsequent steam-up of the historic steam engine No. 29. The engine is a 280 Baldwin that was recently overhauled and recertified by its owners Bob and Tom Gray who have run the Virginia & Truckee Railroad since the 1970s.

Since it was taken out of service more than six years ago, engine No. 29 was replaced by an aging diesel engine to pull the rail cars filled with passengers between Virginia City and Gold Hill.

To many train buffs, the diesel doesn't have the nostalgic draw that a steam train does. Some locals call that diesel "Old Stinky."

Many steam train enthusiasts feared that old No. 29 would never come back, but on June 21 their fears were put to rest. People who attended the V&T Reconstruction meeting in Virginia City were treated to a short ride aboard a train pulled by the big black steam-belching engine.

The meeting included a discussion led by Kevin Ray, project coordinator of the Virginia & Truckee Railway Construction Project. Ray shared information on the progress of the reconstruction effort's first two phases of the three-phase project.
The first phase was completed last year and construction is moving quickly on the second phase with laying of track into Mound House in Lyon County.

Ray said current funding will take the railroad track across U.S. 50 using a bridge that was donated several years ago by the Nevada Department of Transportation, but Phase 3 of the project is yet-to-be funded. The project's total estimated cost some $60 million.

While the track of the reconstructed railroad won't follow the exact rail bed of the Comstock's heyday, it does provide a glimpse back in time and will provide a tourism boost to the area, promoters say.

Similar reconstruction projects that draw tourists from around the world include Colorado's Durango & Silverton steam train in Durango and New Mexico's Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad out of Chamas.

The recent post-meeting steam train ride was hosted by Bob and Tom Gray of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad and the Virginia Truckee Railroad Historical Society.
The Gray's Virginia & Truckee Railroad runs from F Street in Virginia City down Gold Canyon to the historic Gold Hill Depot.

The reconstruction project's first and second phases extend the track from the Gold Hill Depot for 1.4 miles across the Overman Pit and on to American Flats. The pit had to be partially filled to provide a rail bed because of the gaping hole left from open pit mining.

The track then runs to Tunnel No. 2, which was reopened and reconstructed. It starts up again on the other side of the tunnel with track running into Mound House near the top of Industrial Parkway, adding another 4.3 miles of track to the project.
Track crews are continuing to lay rail that will wind through the hills above Mound House and turn to run parallel to Linehan Road in Mound House, ultimately spanning U.S. 50 near the Lyon/Carson County line via a rail bridge.

The predominantly government-funded project is overseen by the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railway.

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Lyon County has chance to restore spirit of cooperation to V&T project

Lyon County has seemingly never been sold on the prospects of the V&T Railroad. How else can you explain the county's refusal to pony up any cash for the project that will run through its midst.

So be it — that is the county's right. It's difficult to lay blame on its residents for not contributing their tax dollars, even though it's hard to envision the county not profiting off the thousands of tourists the railroad is expected to bring. Douglas and Washoe counties have taken much the same stance, preferring to let Carson City and, to a lesser but proportional degree, Storey County bear the brunt of the cost.

But to hear that Lyon County is already profiting off the construction of the project to which it has not contributed doesn't sit right. Lyon County has collected some $30,000 in sales tax. That's a small amount in the context of the $54 million cost of the 18-mile tourist railroad, to which Carson City has given $21 million, but significant in other ways.

The V&T Commission was formed in a spirit of partnership for a project that its members deemed to be a good investment for the region. While the disproportionate monetary commitment that followed has perhaps sullied that spirit, Lyon County has an opportunity to make a positive statement about the V&T and all of the cooperation that has brought it so far in such a short period.

How? By contributing an amount to the V&T equal to the sales tax it is collecting off the construction of the project, even if that amount proves largely symbolic.

• This editorial represents the view of the Nevada Appeal Editorial Board

 

John, who owns the 29? I saw a nasty comment on another site about the Grays running "a government owned locomotive." Didn't understand it.
:tb-confused:

 

I'm not sure on that one. I thought either the state of NV or a "museum/historical group" in Virginia City but not the Grays.

 

I always thought #29 was owned by the Greys.
Steam Locomotive Information lists #29 as owned by the Greys
It may also be owned by the local historical society.

But its definitly not owned by the government agency that is rebuilding the V&T from Carson to Gold Hill. That agency gave the contract to operate the project to Sierra Northern Railroad, purchased McCloud #18 to be ran on it, and now Sierra is running #18 out of Oakdale CA. Now that is "running a government owned locomotive".

 

another Nevada Appeal article...

Clearing the canyon
Future V&T construction aims to limit access and destruction in Carson River Canyon
By Dave Frank
Appeal staff writer


Carson City Open Space Manager Juan Guzman talks Wednesday about the proposed plans for the Carson River Canyon area. The V&T Railway is expected to travel through the canyon and access to motorized vehicles will be cut off.
Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal



Abandonded cars and illegal dumping are just some of the problems in Carson River Canyon.
Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal

Campsites, trash heaps and abandoned cars dot the Carson River Canyon. Shell casings cover the ground by an old mill wall less than three miles from a public rifle range.

The Carson City Parks Department is working on a plan for those five miles along the Carson River that the V&T Railway will cross. It will limit people’s access, officials say, but will also help preserve the canyon.

The department plans to build a trail that hikers, bicyclists and possibly off-road vehicle riders can use, but it will also close off most of the area to cars.

City Open Space Manager Juan Guzman, who is working on the plan, called the V&T “a blessing in disguise.”

While it will be harder for people to see the beauty of the “national park kind of site,” he said, it will reduce the amount of trash and graffiti as well as number of people who live along the river.

“After 14 years of driving this thing, there are some real benefits to cutting off access,” said Gary Luce, environmental engineer for the V&T project.

It isn’t clear when railroad construction through the canyon will start, but Guzman said he hopes to get some of the money to buy the private land for open space from a park fund in about a month. The state commission that manages the V&T would then buy from the city the land it needs for the project.

There are a few miles done on the 18-mile railroad that will run from Virginia City to Carson City, and a section that will bring it across Highway 50 and into Carson City will go out to bid in the fall. The section that will bring it through the canyon and near the Carson City depot will go out to bid after that is done.

The project will cost at least $55 million and is scheduled to be done around 2011.
Jeff Moser, who runs www.BikeCarson.com, said closing the canyon to cars will be good for that area as well as for hikers and bicyclists. The canyon, however, needs to be closed to off-road vehicles, too.

“Motorized vehicles tend to tear up the trail, causing erosion problems,” he said in an e-mail. “They are way more likely to dump trash, too. I rode dirt bikes for a decade and saw so much destruction on public lands.”

But some people who drive through the canyon said it isn’t fair to shut out drivers who aren’t doing anything wrong.

Glen Forcier said he and two other men are living temporarily by the river, but they all have full-time jobs, pay taxes and keep their camp site clean.

It’s too expensive for them to stay in a hotel, he said, and it’s impossible to live on city streets.

“We get roused every day in the city,” he said. “We only get roused about once a month here.”

Also, the road through the canyon is the only route from the south side of the city to the east side of the river, and cutting off access to cars will cause traffic problems, said Pat Schmid of the Pine Nut Mountains Trail Association.

“I don not think a foot path/bike path mitigates this problem,” Schmid said in an e-mail.

Those who drive cars, however, wouldn’t be the only people excluded. There would also be times during the year when the only way to get through the canyon besides
the train would be by boat.

Banks are steep in some parts , so the trail in those places will have to be built close to the river. When the water gets high during parts of the spring and summer, then, the water will flood the trail.

But Ken Dorr, the V&T project engineer, said fact that the railroad will go through the canyon has been public information for 10 years, and he doesn’t know why people would start complaining now.

“We’ve had public hearings up the ying-yang,” he said.

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.