Virginia and Truckee Railroad - History - Expansion and Prosperity

Expansion and Prosperity

In late 1871, a line extension to Reno was begun, to connect the V&T line with the Central Pacific Railroad. This would allow through train service between Virginia City and San Francisco. Construction began with track being installed starting at the Reno end of the line. The first train to run end-to-end from Virginia City to Reno took place on August 24, 1872, pulled appropriately by the road's newest locomotive at the time, No. 11, the Reno. This milestone marked the completion of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. By 1873, as more rich silver deposits were discovered, the railroad was earning a profit of over $100,000 per month, and paying $15,000 per month in dividends to investors.

In 1880, the V&T built a 3' gauge railroad called the Carson & Colorado. The railroad never did reach the state of Colorado, its aim was to head to the southern part of California, and eventually to the Colorado River where new mining claims were being struck. These never did pan out, and by 1891 those claim sites were all but forgotten. A liability to the V&T, the "slim princess" was sold to the Southern Pacific in 1900. The words of Ogden Mills, "Either we built this line 300 miles too short or 300 years to early" reflected V&T's attitude towards the railroad.

Shortly after the sale of the C&C, however, silver was discovered at Tonopah, Nevada. The C&C became prosperous for the Southern Pacific, as wagon trains would run for miles through the desert to reach the narrow-gauge line, which would then carry it back to the V&T at Carson City. Because of the break of gauge between the C&C and V&T, the Tonopah ore had to be unloaded from the narrow-gauge cars and into the standard gauge cars. Southern Pacific officials did not like this arrangement, so in 1904 they converted the narrow-gauge line to standard gauge, now renamed the Nevada & California Railroad. In addition, the Southern Pacific offered to buy the Virginia & Truckee, but the V&T officials set their price too high. Instead, the Southern Pacific built their own line from a branch on the former C&C, 28 miles to connect with their own main line, thus bypassing the V&T entirely.

The corporate headquarters of the V&T was moved from Virginia City to Carson City in 1900. In 1904, the corporation changed its name to the Virginia and Truckee Railway. In response to agricultural and cattle ranch concerns, the V&T built a short branch line to Minden, NV, about 26 miles south of Carson City, in 1906. This branch line brought in increased freight traffic; as a result the V&T purchased three new ten-wheelers from Baldwin: No. 25, 26, and 27, in 1905, 1907, and 1913 respectively.