The V&T tourist railroad started out with the ex-Dardanelle & Russellville 4-4-0 that was numbered V&T #28. This locomotive had been a Short Line Enterprises locomotive and had operated on the Sierra before coming to the V&T. The rigid wheelbase proved to be too hard on the track structure, and the lease was too expensive, with the result that the locomotive only lasted one year.

The second season saw them use the small 0-4-0 for a few months. The railroad went shopping for a locomotive of its own and came close to buying one or two before the Longview Portland & Northern #680 was found and purchased. The #680 was trucked from Grande Ronde, Oregon to Virginia City, and it went into service in 1977.

The V&T did purchase ex-Southern Pacific 0-6-0 #1251 that had been on display in a Stockton park. This locomotive was moved to Virginia City in 1984.

The #8 arrived in 1990. It was owned by a private individual, not the Feather River Rail Society. The #8 went into service.

As far as I know all three of these steam locomotives are still in Virginia City, although I seem to remember something about the 0-6-0 possibly going someplace else. The #8 and the #29 were sidelined at the end of 2001 by the new boiler regulations that went into effect on 1 January 2002. In the three years since the V&T has used diesels. In 2002 they used ex-Quincy Railroad #3, a GE 44-tonner leased from the Feather River Rail Society. The #3 went back to Portola at the end of the season. During the winter of 2002-2003 the railroad swapped a turntable to the FRRS for an ex-Military GE 80-ton centercab that has handled all operations for 2003 and 2004. The 44-tonner ran all 2002 wearing badly faded and pealing Quincy blue and silver; the 80-tonner was given a green and yellow paint job before delivery to Virginia City, and it is numbered D-1.

JDLX
Elko, NV
http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails

The 8 is owned by the Feather River SHORT LINE, not the FRRS. Its a bit confusing as both groups resided at the Portola Railroad Museum when the PRM first opened and the FRSL has two pieces of equipment still at the PRM.

The turntable that was traded for the 80 tonner is the ex-WP Oroville Turntable. It will eventually be restored in Portola with a replica roundhouse.

I would think that eventually the Restoration would need to buy out or otherwise come to an agreement with Bob Grey. It is wasteful to have so much competition and duplicate effort. The resources behind the Restoration could also be applied to restoring the 29, and maybe even the 8. Also, there are still 1 or 2 V&T passenger cars in VC, IIRC.

There are still some V&T records not in a museum collection. I have a two tiny but interesting pieces: the Mechanical Department accounts ledger from about 1898 until around 1926 and the Mech Dept locomotive fuel logs from around 1914 until 1936 or 37. THey will eventually go to a museum.

E

Folks,

I may be wrong on this, but I see the plan to be something line what they have going in Strasburg, Pennsylvanis. A State museum which mostly static displays and a tourist railroad across the street or at least near by, which will do most of the operating.

Carson and Virginia are great places to visit and if I ever get to do it by train all the much better.

I do not know of any other short line that has such a lot of its 19th century equipment still in existance.

Even the mass of D&RGW equipment in Colorado is most;ly 20th century.

Good Luck to the new Virginia and Truckee!

Ted Miles