He was a longtime Virginia & Truckee historian:

Obituaries

Dale Darney

Long time Reno resident Dale Darney passed away at home on April 8,
2006 with family and friends by his side. He was born Decem ber 9,
1934 in Logan, Utah to Alta and John Blaine Darney. Dale was
preceded in death by his mother, father, and brother, Ron, all of
Reno. He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Lynn, his son,
Robert (and his wife, Robin), his daughter, Barbara Linde (and her
husband James), sister, Lois Graves, brother, Jerry, and he was
blessed with seven grand children: Chris, Paris, Sydney, Brad,
Shelby, Samantha and Robert and several nieces and nephews. Dale
attended Mt. Rose Elementary, B.D. Billinghurst Jr. High, Reno High
and the University of Nevada. He then worked for Nevada Air Craft
Products and Landa Electric. He belonged to the Reno Model RR Club,
the Friends of the V & T and the Carson Railroad Museum. He
volunteered running the motor car for the museum and was a member of
the Board of Trustees. Dale was owner of Reno Scale Models, a hobby
and model retail store and of V & T Shops, manufacturing model train
kits. Dale was a pioneer in the casting of urethane for kits for
model work. He was a master model builder. Dale also built
architectural models with the help of his son and sometimes his
daughter for resorts, casinos and court cases, many of which are
still on display in Northern Nevada. Dale was a researcher and
historian and spoke to groups about the history of railroads, mining
and logging in the Western United States. He spoke at numerous
seminars for local civic groups and at conventions across the
country. He has done extensive research on railroads through the
California State Railroad Museum Research Library in Sacramento, CA,
the Bancroft Library at Berkeley, CA and the Special Collections
Department at the University of Nevada. He was considered to be the
foremost authority of the history and operations of the V & T
Railroad. Dale loved to travel the back roads across the country
enjoying everything he saw. He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed
duck hunting and camping as well. Most of all, he loved to be with
his family. They made him happy. He loved to teach them the how's
and why's of whatever touched their lives. He was a storybook hus
band, so kind, so gentle, so loving. He and his wife had a magical
life together. He was a wonderful dad. He was so proud of his kids
and always said so. They carry with them the feeling of how special
and loved they are. In respect of Dale's wishes, he will be
cremated. There will not be a funeral or a memorial service. In lieu
of flowers, the family would greatly appreciate donations in memory
of Dale to the California State Railroad Museum Research Library at
111 I Street, Sacra mento, CA 95814 Attn: Stephen Drew or to St.
Mary's Hospice at 18653 Wedge Parkway, Reno, NV 89511. The family
invites you to share memories of Dale by e-mailing to:
daledarney@charter.net. Dale was fortunate to have many friends like
Paul Martineau and Art Marr. Art selflessly stayed by Dale's side,
giving exceptional love and care. The family also wishes to thank
the PAS Program and St. Mary's Hospice whose assistance was
invaluable to the family.