Stephen Drew 128 pages softcover
The Virginia & Truckee
(V&T) was once the richest and most famous short line railroad in
America. Created in 1869 to provide transportation for the Comstock
Lode, the V&T transported gold and silver ore to the quartz
reduction mills. On the return trip, it brought back cordwood for fuel,
timbers for mining, lumber for building communities, and all the goods
needed by the area's nearly 40,000 inhabitants. The V&T also
supported passenger transportation between Virginia City, Gold Hill,
Carson City, and Reno. At its peak, this bonanza railroad ran 50 trains
per day and paid stockholders more than $130,000 in monthly dividends.
Over the next 80 years, operations dwindled to a trickle, and the last
train ran in May 1950. Today, the V&T is immortalized in motion
pictures, its locomotives and cars are exhibited in museums, and 14
miles of the V&T have been returned to operation.
