Nevada's Famous Virginia and Truckee Railway
V&T's (Nevada Copper Belt) #5 -- photo from Nevada State Journal (11/3/1950)
 Crew of the November 2, 1950 run: Conductor Patrick Allen, Fireman H. N. Shene and Engineer Grover C. Russell, from Nevada State Journal 11/3/1950  Nevada State Journal article, November 3, 1950 |
I was speaking
with a well-known Virginia and Truckee historian, and asked about "the last
run" of the V&T Railroad. He hesitated and said, "it's easy to get in
trouble using the words first and last." For example, in Silver Short Line, Ted Wurm claims the first excursion run on Virginia and Truckee rails was in the 1930's. This seems to be a dubious claim in light of the early days of the railroad when people were taken to picnics and many other events on the V&T -- these trips would likely count as excursions in the eyes of the riders. In addition, the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight featured so many people riding to the fight that the V&T had to suspend their freight operations in order to get the passenger coaches there. THE LAST COMMERCIAL RUN AND THE REAL LAST RUN When someone says "the last run of the Virginia and Truckee," they typically mean the "last commercial run." May 31, 1950 was the official day of abandonment for freight and passenger services for the V&T, and that day was greeted with sadness, fanfare, celebrations, filming and a radio broadcast. There may well be another "last run": according to the previously mentioned historian, it's almost certain that when the rails were finally ripped up between Minden and Reno, the abandoned rails were carried by train. Perhaps November 2, 1950 wasn't the last time trains ran on V&T tracks, although it's possible the rails were hauled away by truck. NEVADA STATE JOURNAL ARTICLE OF November 3, 1950 When reading Ted Wurm's Silver Short Line, I found a reference to November 2, 1950. On this day Virginia and Truckee surprised people along the right of way by hauling the burned remains of #26 to the Western Pacific yard in Reno. #26 was to be at the head of the last commercial passenger train, but it mysteriously burned on May 1, 1950 at the Reno engine house. The Interstate Commerce Commission gave permission for #27 to come out of retirement, thus the #27 is remembered as the last locomotive on May 31, 1950. According to the article, the #5 locomotive pulling the #26 wasn't a "real" Virginia and Truckee locomotive, in the sense that it was obtained in the 1940's from the abandoned Nevada Copper Belt Railroad. I disagree with this concept of "real." (continued below) |
(con't from above) For example, the V&T #24 caboose was previously Nevada Copper Belt's #3 caboose. It was acquired by the Virginia and Truckee in the final years in 1947. This caboose was certainly a V&T caboose, in fact, it's popular enough that you can buy a G-scale model of the V&T caboose complete with the "Ship Via Nevada's Famous V&T" slogan on the side:
Just like the #24, I also consider the #5 to be a real piece of V&T history, even if equipment rosters don't. According to the Nevada State Journal article, the #5 was being sold to Western Pacific for use in its Portola Yard. This is hard to track down, and reliable local V&T historian Loren Jahn says this wasn't the case. He told me, "The #5 was parked on a spur track north of downtown. Over time pieces of the #5 were stolen as souveniers, and eventually the locomotive was scrapped right here in Reno." So much for trusting what you read in the newspapers. The mail car had been acquired from the Yosemite Valley Railroad "ten years ago or more" and was being sold to private interests. The #26, on the other hand, was in its sad twilight. After it burned on May 1, 1950, the #26 was hauled back to Carson City and stripped. On November 2, 1950 it was being taken north to Reno to be scrapped. The article goes on to say that the train created quite an unexpected sensation -- people shouted, "Look, it's the V&T" and grabbed their cameras for one last fling. It was noted that the #5 used an air horn, which I believe is correct. What a strange thing to hear a diesel-style air-horn and look up to see a steam locomotive! The #5 crew had to move very slowly, to allow the them to block auto grade crossings, as the drivers didn't expect a train any longer. The article also claims the crew had to inspect switches before crossing them, and goes on to describe tumbleweeds piling up on the cowcatcher as the train ran over the neglected rails. Conductor Patrick Allen, Fireman H. N. Shene and Engineer Grover C. Russell ran this November 2 consist. The NSJ article says that soon after the Virginia and Truckee was shuttered in mid-1950, most of the employees moved on and found new jobs. It was hard to find enough "old-timers" to run what may very well be "the real last run of the V&T."
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