Nevada State Railroad Museum: then and now

Before 1931 vs 2019 · Carson City, NV

Nevada State Railroad Museum, Before 1931

NowThen

Then, Before 1931Virginia & Truckee locomotive No. 20, called Tahoe, inside the railroad’s Carson City engine house. Commons lists the year as 1925, but the exact date is not documented.Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Source · resized

Today, 2019The Nevada State Railroad Museum, which opened in 1980. This is a different building from the old engine house. Photo taken in 2019.Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source · resized

The story

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad was built to haul ore, lumber and supplies for the Comstock Lode silver mines. Work started in 1869, and regular trains ran between Carson City and Virginia City by that December.

The line later reached Reno in 1872 and added a branch to Minden in 1906. Falling traffic and competition from highways ended it, and the last run came in 1950.

The Nevada State Railroad Museum opened in 1980 as the V&T Railroad Museum and was renamed in 1985. It keeps and runs historic engines and cars, and some of its equipment came from Hollywood movie sets.

Did you know? Special V&T trains carried theatergoers from Carson City to Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City starting in December 1869.

Historians argue about this. The date on the old engine-house photo is not documented. Commons lists 1925, but it is only known to be before 1931.

Fact or tall tale?

SolidThe Virginia & Truckee Railroad ran between Carson City and Virginia City.
Wikipedia and museum sources agree: the first section from Virginia City to Carson City opened in 1869.
Not trueEvery locomotive in the museum is original Virginia & Truckee equipment.
The museum also keeps equipment from other railroads, and some came from Hollywood studios.

Sources

More: Look for historic photos at the Library of Congress

Stamp it in person

Go there, answer the question that only someone standing at Nevada State Railroad Museum can answer, and add the stamp to your passport. Free, no sign-up.

Play Carson City

More in Carson City

Next: Nevada State Capitol. Written from the cited sources, not yet walked on site unless noted.