Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company

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Virginia City, NV
Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company

Be sure to visit our original 1870 passenger depot, home of the historic 1872 "Reno" locomotive! Watch for mines and silver ore veins.
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Take a fascinating 35-minute ride back into history over the scenic Virginia & Truckee Railroad. Hear the conductor narrate remarkable stories of the Comstock Bonanza, when the V&T was built, and Virginia City was the richest city on earth, with more millionaires than anywhere else. You’ll ride through Tunnel No. 4, the last tunnel before Virginia City, one of seven built for the 1600-ft. descent

to the valley floor. You’ll pass by many of the Comstock mine sites including the Gould & Curry, Savage, Hale & Norcross, Potosi, Chollar, Julia, Ward Bullion, East Yellow Jacket, Crown Point, Kentuck, Yellow Jacket, Combination and the Foreman. Finally, you’ll stop in Gold Hill , rich in American history where the Comstock Era gold and silver strikes began in 1859. See the train depot, the Liberty Engine Fire Company monument , visit at the 1859 Gold Hill Hotel and see the early Bank of California building and the Maynard Block.

01/18/2025

Howdy V&T Nation and welcome to "Answer Friday"! So, what was the fib about headlights on the V&T? That the railroad would remove them during daytime operation. That one was specifically a Central Pacific-ism from roughly the same time period, but never took hold on the V&T.

Being a railroad that operated around the clock, the Virginia and Truckee *needed* headlights not only to see, but also be seen. To start off, the railroad used oil headlights like pretty much everyone else. Some sources cite kerosene, others whale oil. Likely whale oil started off, but as kerosene became more readily available and whale oil more expensive, the V&T would use kerosene up and until around 1902.

In the 1890's, the process to make industrial levels of acetylene gas was perfected and people took note of the bright flame used when burning the ethanol-based compound. So, onto locomotive headlights the gas went!

The V&T began using acetylene gas as a headlight fuel in 1902 during the modernization upgrades to the engines. Having a brighter flame meant seeing what was down the tracks during the dawn and dusk runs of the morning mixed and "Virginia Express" trains no doubt helped ease the crews' minds. The last 3 engines of the V&T #'s 25, 26, & 27, we're all delivered with the acetylene headlights.

By the 19-teens, dynamos small and capable enough to run a locomotives' headlights were perfected. When the big rebuilds came along, the Virginia and Truckee would start ditching the flammable fuels and move to incandescent bulbs and wires instead.

01/16/2025

V&T at the movies! Did you know legendary filmmaker John Huston used Virginia & Truckee Railroad's trains? You can see it in his 1951 Civil War drama the Red Badge of Courage. A poster of the movie now adorns the car which appeared in it. From classic Hollywood to the modern age, V&T remains an enduring cinematic mainstay!

01/15/2025

Howdy V&T Nation! It's the dark, long nights of winter, which means it's the perfect time to do a "Two-Truths Tuesday" on the topic of headlights on the V&T!

As a refresher of the rules: 3 statements will be made. 2 are true while 1 will be false. Call out the lie in the comments below then check back on this page on Friday to see if you were correct!

Ready?

A. The V&T used oil lamps from day one

B. Acetylene was used during the 19-Odds to the 19-Teens

C. Headlights weren't mounted to locomotives during day time operations

01/11/2025

Happy Friday V&T Nation! We got the first fib of the year and it was: that the V&T had tie plates on its railroad! The truth is: it did, but it wasn't really the V&T's call to make.

The short stretch of track between the junction of the V&T and SP on what is today Center St/University Way in Reno and the interchange spur past the depot was maintained by the Southern Pacific and V&T together. But, being the senior partner in the endeavor, the SP did force their standards on the Virginia and Truckee, including installing tie plates and a point switch on the shared use track. Afterall, to the SP, it was *their* engines, which makes it their problem.

As for the parts of the V&T that the SP had no say in, it was very much a copy paste of the standards and practices of the Central Pacific Railroad during the 1860's. Originally pear shaped rail placed directly on untreated pine ties with dirt ballast, today's railroader would absolutely and rightfully would have a heart attack. But, for the builders of the Virginia and Truckee, this is how things were done. You see, the people who built the V&T were all veterans of the CP's fight to climb over Donner Pass. The Chinese laborers and their white supervisors probably built the entire railroad on sheer muscle memory at that point. While the V&T did upgrade itself a little big by buying 60lb/yd T rail in the early 1870's, the slow speeds, lack of money, and general lack of traffic after the 1906 generally meant that the railroad never really adopted modern convinces like point switches or tie plates unless the Southern Pacific forced the matter

01/09/2025

Why do locomotives get all the attention? There are only eleven surviving Sacramento Northern cabooses in the world. One of them is in V&T's Virginia City Station, the Cupola Caboose No. 1636! See it when our regular season starts up again in May.

01/08/2025

Happy Tuesday V&T Nation! It's time to gear up for the first full "Two-Truths Tuesday" of 2025! So, this week's question is all about the V&T's trackage during the Mills Era.

As a refresher of the rules: 3 statements shall be made. 2 are true while 1 will be false. Call out the lie in the comments below and then check back on this page on Friday to see if you were right and get context to the story.

Hammers ready? Lay down that railroad!

A. The Mills V&T used tie plates

B. The Mills V&T used dirt ballast extensively

C. The Mills V&T was really a reflection of Central Pacific practices during the building of the 1st Transcontinental Railroad

01/04/2025

Happy New Year's V&T Nation and welcome to the first "Answer Friday" of 2025!

There were quite a few viewpoints on Mr. Sampson and his tenure as the General Manager of the Virginia and Truckee Railway. So, let's dive into the facts about Gordon Alexander Sampson.

Sampson was brought into the V&T story in October of 1945 after the passing of Samuel Biglow. Now, Sampson had walked into a railroad that was gasping for air. The V&T had barely scraped through a bankruptcy in 1940 with an estate of the late O.L.Mills' living relatives and a shareholder cabinet of V&T creditors clamoring to get their money's worth out of the beat up shortline. Compounding the new V-P/Secretary/GM's problems was the post-war rise of cars and trucks running on cheaper freight rates and faster schedules than what the V&T offered with an onerous Interstate Commerce Commission who were forcing the railway to play by the freight rate rules set down in the 1880's and 1890's. The railroad had resorted to duct tape and bailing wire style repairs on their rolling stock due to the belt tightening done during the dark days of the Depression. Now, also add in that the roadbed was starting to look like the precursor to the infamous Penn Central with the natural result being an alarming number of derailments.

And Sampson's job was to make this whole mess profitable or offload it onto someone else.

Challenge accepted.

Sampson's first priority was to cut costs where practical. Wooden cars were and still are high maintenance equipment that requires constant attention and upkeep. So, to Sampson, selling off some of the extra cars to keep the lights on was all part of the V&T tradition at that point.

Now, engine 25 was objectively useless for the higher tonnage trains that Sampson wanted to run if he were to keep the railroad open. So, off she went and, giving Sampson his fair credit, the Big 5 was more powerful and cheaper to operate than anything the V&T owned to that point or would own until the Big 18 joined the roster in 2007.

Then of course Sampson decided to pick a fight with the Southern Pacific Railroad of all entities over interchange profits. Yeah, that one was plain dumb. But, given the track record of V&T GM's picking dumb fights (see Yerington V. ICC 1902), this one's keeping up with a grand tradition.

And, to Sampson's credit, he *did* actively hunt down any source of traffic he could find and the results paid off in increased tonnage over the railway.

Now, what did Sampson gain from all his cost cutting and fight picking? A pretty busy MOW season. Gordon Sampson may not be a railroader, but he understood enough to know that trains like a well-maintained railroad to run over.

Every MOW season (March to October), Sampson directed the maintenance of way gangs to swap the rotten pine ties with reused redwood ties from the California Western. Granted used redwood is still expensive, but that stuff *lasts*. And thousands of redwood ties were installed each and every year under Sampson's direction.

Now, what about him vocally advertising that the railway will shut down? Major Gordon Sampson was a soldier in his younger years, and soldiers were never well known for their tact. To them, plainly speaking the honest truth is the modus operandi. So, of course a retired commissioned officer would be plainly honest to anyone who asked about the V&T's future should it not get profitable. Afterall, he had bosses back east to answer to and their instructions were clear as crystal.

Now, did that turn away much needed customers due to fears of their goods not being delivered? Truthfully, yes. But, it was that same advertising that helped Nevada rediscover its little railroad.

And, give Sampson his fair credit, he was on board with the idea of Lucius Beebe and co. acquiring the Virginia and Truckee off of the Mills Family and the railway's creditors. Unfortunately, the creditors wanted money above all else. And Sampson did keep the Final Trainset mostly intact for display. Plus, the Gordon Sampson papers are an amazing treasure trove at a first hand account of those final 5 years.

History can be pretty complicated and so are the people who make it.

01/02/2025

Happy New Year! From Virginia & Truckee Railroad. We'll see you on the tracks again in spring!

12/31/2024

Hello V&T Nation and Happy New Year's Eve! This is the last "Two-Truths Tuesday" of the year and we've got a good one for ya! This week, we're putting the microscope on one of the central figures in the story of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad and definitely it's most controversial: Gordon Alexander Sampson.

As a twist to the normal rules: we're making 3 statements, but how many are true is up to you! We'll give you 3 of the most common viewpoints given about him. Call out what answers or viewpoints you have of Mr. Sampson in the comments below. Then, check back on this page on Friday the 3rd of January 2025 to get the objective story of Gordon Sampson's involvement!

Ready? Begin!

A. Sampson had it out for the "Museum on Rails" and deliberately scuttled it through advertising the abandonment of the line.

B. Sampson was fond of the railroad and did his best to save it, but he took his orders from on high.

C. The fate of the V&T was sealed a long time ago by decisions made in halls Sampson had no control over and he did the best with the cards he was handed.

Photo from The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive.

12/30/2024

Counting down to the end of the year, and the start of our next regular season in May!

12/28/2024

Howdy V&T Nation and welcome to the absolute last "Answer Friday" of 2024!!! Where did the year go?

So, what was the lie of this week's "Two-Truths Wednesday"? That the solid steel pilots installed on Engines 26 & Big 5 did a better job at keeping debris from going under the wheels than the wood pilots previously used. The truth is, they performed more or less about the same as the old wood pilots.

It is 1947 and #25 is out, the Big 5 is in. Gordon Sampson now had to contend with a looming problem: he now had no dedicated plow engine. For a railroad that deals with snow on a fairly regular basis, having plow engines makes life much easier. But, on the flip side, plow engines make almost no money for the railroad as they spend most of the winter bucking snow or getting thrown back together after a wreck and spend most of the summer getting proper repairs. And for Sampson who's task was to make the struggling V&T profitable or get rid of it, a plow engine was an unneeded expense.

So, what does he do? He asks his employees and the SP Sparks Shop to get creative. What the two came up with was a solid steel pilot fashioned in a way that was not too dissimilar from the pilots of the big Cab Aheads or the MT's that called Sparks home. Add bright aluminum paint to the smokebox and pilot for extra road crossing visibility, and you've got yourself one fine looking pair of engines.

Of course, the new paint jobs and new pilots also had a nice secondary bonus: it make the Virginia and Truckee *appear* to be a modern railroad.

We know, the V&T and Modernity go together about as well as toothpaste and OJ.

But, Gordon Sampson really did want to attract business to the Virginia and Truckee. And what better way to retain and attract customers than to have the appearance of a somewhat up-to-date, maintained railroad. Between retirement of the vast majority of thecwood rolling stock and making the 26 & Big 5 look prettier, some might argue that parts of Sampson's plans worked.

At any rate, the plow pilots used by the 26 & Big 5 were effective at light to moderate snow drifts. However, as the Winter of '48 proved, big drifts means big troubles for the V&T. With no money to pay the SP to borrow a flanger train and boiler tube time being worth more than its weight in gold, Gordon decided that it was more economical and safer to throw in the towel and wait for the snow to melt enough.

This image from Caelum's collection shows how good the plow pilots were as we see #26 stomping into Carson from Minden with her front covered in snow drifts she bucked earlier in the day

12/26/2024

Merry Christmas! From everyone at Virginia & Truckee Railroad, and Santa's Workshop at Gold Hill Depot.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and welcome to "Two-Truths Wednesday"! Yeah, call us Pen Central cause this be late....

But! We got another Winter themed challenge for y'all's! What's the deal with the silver solid pilots that #26 & the Big 5 wore in their later lives?

As a refresher of the rules: 3 statements shall be made. 2 are true and 1 is false. Call out the lie in the comments below then check back on this page on Friday to see if you were right and get context to the story!

Paint brushes ready?

A. It was an idea by Gordon Sampson to give the V&T a more modern look based on SP practices

B. The solid pilots did better at keeping debris from getting under the wheels

C. The solid pilots were also snow plows

12/23/2024

Today officially marks the end of Virginia & Truckee Railroad's sold-out holiday season, and the end of our regular train rides until next season! Thanks again to all the passengers who rode with us this year. See you again in 2025!

12/21/2024

Hello V&T Nation! Welcome to the last Friday of operations here on the Virginia and Truckee for the 2024 season! And the 2nd to last "Two-Truths Tuesday" and "Answer Friday" combo for 2024! We at the V&T want to thank each and every one of you for making this season a smash hit and taking these trips into our railroad's lore and legends.

Now, speaking of lore, what was the fib from this week's "Two-Truths Tuesday"? That the #18 Dayton ran on the V&T into the 1940's. While she enjoyed a successful Hollywood career, the 18 was withdrawn in 1938 for a very good reason.

The scene.

It is February 10th of 1937 in the Washoe Valley at Franktown. Snow drifts had continuously clogged the line from Carson to Reno since December. Engines 27, 26, & 18 were smashing another drift just like they would any other.

With the 18 being a plow locomotive, the technique would go as follows: the 18 and her pushers would charge plow first at a drift as fast as the crews would dare and use brute force to throw the snow clear of the tracks. They would proceed until the engines stalled then would jerk themselves in reverse before snow could trap the running gear and back up for another pass. "Buck plowing" as it is commonly referred as is a technique almost as old as railroads themselves and incredibly dangerous. Any debris could damage or derail a locomotive or ice and snow that got built up could, did, and still does pick up a locomotive and place it where Heaven's Will and Hell's Wrath decide.

On this pass in 1937, things would go spectacularly wrong. The 18 and her 2 pushers charged at the drift at Franktown with every intent of smashing it. The crew on the 18 felt the normal jerk as the snow tried to push against the momentum of the 3 engines and the usual blinding powder of the stuff obscured their vision. Half a second later, total shock and fear hit the pit of their stomach as they felt the 18 be lifted off the rails and being thrown to the side by the combination of 2 burley Ten Wheelers and her own momentum. The air was quickly dumped and everyone hung on to anything that was firmly attached to the locomotive and prayed she didn't roll. Half a second later, the trip was over.

Once the shock wore off, the damage was quickly ascertained. As the Carson Appeal wrote the next day "the locomotive was derailed and thrown crossways over the track". The tender was rerailed easily enough once the water was drained.

As for the engine? She was 1) stuck, 2) ontop of a pretty mangled railroad, and 3) generally in the way. In response, the railroad pushed the 18 to where she would be clear of the railroad while the tracks got repaired. It wasn't until around mid February when the 18 was finally pulled back on the rails after some relief from an SP flanger train helped reopen the line.

After being towed dead back to the Carson Enginehouse and reunited with her tender, the V&T mechanics in the Enginehouse quickly worked to get her in fighting shape again. Afterall, they would need her again come the 37-38 snow season. Then O.L. Mills died in October of that same year. With the railroad's sugar daddy now dead and the railroad bleeding money, the belt got tightened.

One of the first things to go were any unnecessary expenditures. And the Virginia City Branch was cut. No VC line meant no need for the 18 as her job could now be done by a now freed up #25.

So, in August of 1938, the 18 would be sold to Paramount Studios and leave Nevada

12/20/2024

Howdy V&T Nation! Like many in the railroad community, we're heartbroken and devastated at the tragic derailment in Pecos, Texas that unfortunately resulted in the deaths of 2 Union Pacific employees. And to add to the heartbreak is the fact that one phone call would have saved their lives.

By law, every public railroad crossing has an Emergency Notification Hotline sign mounted within easy access of the crossing. The idea behind these signs is that whenever an issue regarding the crossing from malfunctions to stranded vehicles crops up, the posted number will get you in direct contact with the railroad dispatcher. With the information you provide based on the sign's data, the dispatcher can alert trains to the danger to prevent an accident.

Address

166 F Street
Virginia City, NV
89440

Telephone

+17758470380

Website

http://www.virginiatruckee.com/

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Videos

V&T's No. 18 locomotive pulls to Virginia City Station from Carson City, and pushes down all 12 miles backwards! Counting down the days until our regular season starts up again. #railfans #steamengine

ALCO Wakeup

Wakey wakey eggs & bakey! Getting the 1059 kicked on and ready for another day of our famous Candy Cane Express.

Here's some music for all you ALCO-lytes

The second weekend of V&T's sold-out holiday season is about to begin! Here are some highlights of holiday cheer from the Candy Cane Express' first weekend voyages. #AllAboard #SeasonsGreetings #railfans #travelnevada

Virginia & Truckee Railroad is all set for its sold-out Holiday season to finally launch this weekend! Here's a sneak peek of how V&T is preparing for the Candy Cane Express and Electric Holiday Trains o' Lights. #SeasonsGreetings #Christmas #Trains #TravelNevada #AllAboard

What does a minute aboard the Queen of the Short Lines look like? A little something like this! Travel back in time and explore legends of the Comstock with Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The final trains of the regular season are happening now! #railfans #trains #travelnevada

What it's like to travel through a tunnel on the Virginia & Truckee line in the Comstock. One moment, darkness. The next, splendor! #AllAboard

V&T's Engine 18 coming to Virginia City from Carson on a fine Sunday morning. #steamengine #railfans

It's Friday! Another weekend of steam awaits! And another "Answer Friday" has arrived! This week, we challenged y'all's if you knew the lie and a good chunk of y'all's got it! The V&T did *not* own the Carson & Lake Tahoe Flume & Lumber Company, but there were familiar faces.... Logging in the Sierra Nevadas was in high swing in the 1860's to 1880's to meet the soaring demand for timber in the Comstock. Between the needs of building construction, housing, rafters for the timber, and a never ending hunger for cordwood, the business opportunities were limitless. And the bounty to feed this hunger came from the "Jewel of the Sierras": Lake Tahoe It would be a lie to say that today's Lake Tahoe wilderness isn't beautiful. But, the pre-Comstock Lake Tahoe was even more spectacular with untouched, old growth, virgin timberlands surrounding a lake rarely seen by White men. The hundred plus year old trees made for a ready supply to feed the timber demand, but getting the timber to the Eastern Sierra Valleys limited the economics of earlier logging operations. Enter Duane L. Bliss, a business man who happened to catch the ear of 1 Mr. Darius Mills and 1 Mr. Henry Yerington. Along with several other investors, the cadre of Comstock Kings founded the Carson & Lake Tahoe Flume & Lumber Company (C<F&LC for short) in 1873. A sawmill was constructed on the lake's edge at a site known as Glenbrook. Over the course of 1874, a 3 ft narrow guage railroad was built along the steep canyon walls that rim the Tahoe Basin. In 1875, two 2-6-0 Moguls arrived from Baldwin: #1, the "Glenbrook" and #2, the "Tahoe". Together, they shuttled the finished lumber products from the mill in Glenbrook up the steep switchbacks to Spooner Summit where a maintenance/logging camp was located. There, the lumber & cordwood would be offloaded onto a flume system that would speed the wood along at 60 MPH down to the lumber yard south of Downtown Carson. Thefe, the wood would be sorted, stacked, and dri