V&T railroad to resume Carson-Virginia City route after 71 years By Brian Rosenthal • brosenthal@rgj.com • July 28, 2009 http://www.rgj.com/article/20090728/NEWS/90728052&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews (Photos, sidebar, and reader comments at the link.) There was little fanfare as a black steam engine pulled into Carson City a little after noon Tuesday. There were no cheering fans or balloons falling from the sky. But officials said it was a major moment in a 17-year campaign that promises to increase tourism in Northern Nevada. “This has been a long time coming,” said Kevin Ray, project coordinator for the Nevada Commission for Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, a group that has spent almost two decades years working to rebuild a historic railroad track connecting Carson City to Virginia City. On Aug. 14, a train will travel between the two cities for the first time since 1938, Ray said. The engine that came in Carson City on Tuesday, purchased by the commission two years ago, will transport riders on the hour-long trip. The $55 million reconstruction project, initiated by the Nevada Legislature in 1992, is expected to draw tens of thousands of tourists and millions of dollars to Northern Nevada each year, Carson tourism officials said. “It’s all about getting heads in beds,” said Dwight Millard, chairman of the commission and the Carson City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It will get people flying in and staying in rooms to ride the train, and it’ll serve as another attraction to draw conventions.” Millard said he expects 80,000 riders next year, with more than 100,000 in future years. The riders could bring more than $10 million to Northern Nevada each year in tourism and gambling revenue, according to the commission’s Web site. But Ray, Millard and others acknowledged that the project is far from over. The runs starting next month will transport riders along a temporary 12.8 mile track between Virginia City and the Eastgate Siding Depot on Flint Drive in Carson City. The final track is expected to go to a depot a little closer to the center of Carson, near Drako Way, Millard said. Completing the final four-mile segment could take $15 million and two years, he said. Still, officials are hailing the temporary rides as a major accomplishment for a project that has seen many obstacles. The work began with the creation of the commission in 1992, but the initiative quickly ran into trouble securing funding, Ray said. Money eventually trickled in from a many sources, including the federal government and a variety of Northern Nevada municipalities. Carson City has contributed the most money, some $21 million, but Storey County has also put up a significant amount through a one-quarter percent sales tax. “We’ve been working on it one piece at a time,” Ray said. “Yeah, it’s taken a lot of time but we’ve received money from many different sources.” Officials broke ground on phase one of the project in April 2005, according to the commission’s Web site. They’ve celebrated several many milestones since then, including rehabilitating a bridge over U.S. 50 East for the line. They completed construction on the bridge in March. Miners originally used the track in the 1800’s to transport silver ore from Virginia City to mill sites near Carson City, Ray said. Mining service ended in the mid-1850’s, and the last train traveled between the two cities in 1938, said commissioner John Tyson, who will be the engineer on the first train Aug. 14. The family of Tom Gray bought two miles of the line, from Gold Hill to Virginia City, in the 1970’s and still puts on daily runs. Project organizers expect to utilize the structure set up by Gray to run their train. The rich history of the track is the key to the project, Ray said. “We’re rebuilding the past to ensure the future,” he said.
more V&T's new ‘old' locomotive arrives The steam engine that will pull the V&T tourist train between Carson City and Virginia City finally arrived in Nevada Tuesday — by flatbed trailer. “It's taken longer than anticipated but everything's coming together,” said V&T Commission Chairman Dwight Millard after the steam engine was safely on the tracks where it will begin work next month. The McLeod River Railroad engine was purchased seven years ago. It was rented out the past few years to a tourist train operation in Oakdale, Calif. Now that the tracks extend from Virginia City to Mound House and across Highway 50, members of the commission said it was time to bring the engine to its new home. It goes to work officially Aug. 14, transporting dignitaries to Virginia City from the Eastgate Siding just inside the Carson City line. That will kick off the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau Rail Fest celebration. The train will carry its first paying customers Aug. 15-16 then continue to provide tourist rides on Saturdays this summer and fall through Nevada Day. V&T Commissioner Ken Allen has worked nearly 20 years to restore the Virginia & Truckee line, originally built to haul timber and supplies to Virginia City and gold ore back down the hill. Allen said the No. 18 locomotive, an oil-fired steam engine rated to haul 100 tons, cost the commission $420,000 in 2002. Taylor Heavy Hauling of Sacramento charged another $10,000 to bring it from Oakdale to Carson City over the past two days. Along the way, No. 18 drew a lot of attention. Dozens of spectators pulled over to take pictures with their cell phones just in the final 10 miles of the journey. Once at Eastgate Siding off Flint Drive, crews used a switch engine and flatbed rail car to ease the locomotive gently down a short ramp onto the tracks that will now be its home. Millard said he believes the train will be a huge tourist draw once it begins regular service. “It's going to be successful for the whole region,” he said, adding that it will be a great marketing tool for area casinos and convention centers. Once the train starts running on a regular schedule, he said, it will be easier to raise money to add amenities to the project. Among those amenities is either a “Y” shaped turn-around or a turntable to reverse the engine's direction. Until then, the locomotive will face forward on the trip up the mountain but backward on the way down. Project Engineer Ken Dorr said work began Monday on the next section of track, which will take the train into the most beautiful part of the trip — Brunswick Canyon above the Carson River. That phase will end with reconstruction of Eureka Siding in the canyon. When completed, however, the train will go all the way down the hill to the outskirts of Carson City itself — a 17-mile trip. Plans call for a depot along Drako Way just off Highway 50.
John, No. 18 sure gets around. Hope to be able to see her run on the V&T someday after enjoying her on the McCloud. Then there is former GCRy 18 which migrated to the Hood River and then on to the steam operation from Alamosa to La Veta, CO. :tb-biggrin:
In all seriousness...the spelling of McCloud has been the subject of some debate over the years. McCloud (the river, and then the town) is named after Ross McCloud, who arrived in the area in the 1850's. When prospectors found gold in what would become Yreka in 1851 one of the first priorities was to build a good road connecting the new camp with Shasta, now a near ghost town in the hills west of Redding but back then the economic and social heart of northern California. Ross McCloud took charge of the project, initially trying to run a road up what would become the McCloud River but then deciding on an older route running up the Sacramento River (and thereby largely influencing the route Highway 99 and then Interstate 5 would later take). McCloud eventually opened a health resort in the area between what is now Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta City. He owned property along the McCloud River and would often take guests out to it. He left his name on the river. In the late 1880's/early 1890's there was a serious attempt to rename the river McLeod, after Alexander Roderick McLeod, who led a Hudson's Bay Company trapping expedition through the area in 1828/1829. These efforts were met with howls of protest from the locals, who (at least through the newspaper editors of the time) rushed to defend Ross McCloud and his legacy. It makes for some very interesting reading in the old papers! Finally, for those who think the Nevada Appeal (or whatever newspaper the article was lifted from) has a corner on mis-spelling this name....go find yourself a copy of Sunday River Production's Gears in the Woods tape/DVD. Also, not to be anal or anything, but the V&T Commission bought the locomotive in late 2004, which would make it only about four and a half years ago (not seven). Looking forward to seeing the #18 run. It should be interesting. Jeff Moore Elko, NV
I just saw a post on Altamont Press that stated the 18 will not be running for some time due to bearing damage discovered in the last 48 hours. Don't know if it's true or not. :tb-sad:
Oh no... That sounds serious. I wonder if it was a lube problem? Or something was not adjusted properly? :tb-sad: Boxcab E50
1st trips on historic Virginia City train sold out The Associated Press Published: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009 - 6:14 am VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. -- The long-awaited return of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad from Carson City to Virginia City is proving to be quite popular. Seventeen years in the making, the first trips on the 140-passenger train since 1938 have sold out this weekend. Miners used the track in the 1800s to transport silver ore to mill sites near Carson City. After the grand-opening trips Saturday and Sunday, the train will follow nearly 13 miles of the original 16.7-mile route every Saturday through the end of October. It leaves Carson City at 10 a.m., arriving at Virginia City at 11:30 a.m. The return trip starts at 3 p.m. Roundtrip tickets are $48 for adults, $40 for seniors and $36 for children 12 and under. One-way tickets cost $25 to $29.
Yes, McCloud #18 will not be pulling any trains this year. She has several bad bearings. So far they have found bad bearings on the drive rods, and in the pilot truck. The driving rod bearings may have caused damage to the crank pins, and those may need to be replaced. The locomotive has to be jacked up to remove the pilot, to repair its bearings because of they way its designed. These things generally fail because of poor lubrication or maintenance, and its expected that they will find more problems once they get into the repair work, like bad driver bearings. Repair work is being performed by the Grays in Virginia City, and have estimated 400-500 man hours to repair. http://www.renorailfans.com/virginiatruckeeblog/2009/08/mccloud-18-returned-damaged.html V&T Railroad #29 will be pulling trains for the rest of the season. Here are some of the first pictures I have seen of it. http://aroundcarson.com/ There was a inaugural run last night, and the first revenue trains run this weekend. Hopefully #29 will hold out for the season. Going up 2-3% grades for 13 miles is not easy on steamer. There has also been some effort by railfans to rename Eastgate siding, the current terminus of the line, to Kit Kat siding as it is very near the Kit Kat Ranch, a establishment also aimed at attracting business from tourism.
Ouch. That is major work. Is there damage only to bearings? Or axles as well? Which would require dropping and machining, or more... Boxcab E50
