Carson and Colorado Railway

The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that ran from Mound House, Nevada, to Keeler, California, below the Cerro Gordo Mines. The narrow gauge track was chosen to reduce cost. The railroad served an arid area heavily dependent on mineral resources for economic activity. Much of the route now parallels U.S. Route 95 Alternate, U.S. Route 95, Nevada State Route 360, U.S. Route 6, and U.S. Route 395.^[2] After it was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the sprawling company romantically dubbed the route as the Slim Princess.^[3][4]

As the Comstock Lode was winding down, a group which had benefited from the strike with connections to the Bank of California sought to exploit further potential strikes to the south.^[5] The company was incorporated on May 10, 1880, as the Carson and Colorado Railroad, and construction on the railroad began on May 31, 1880.

The Carson and Colorado began operations with a single Baldwin 4-4-0, the Candelaria. The first passenger train ran to Hawthorne in 1880 to show off the town site. Construction commenced in the second half of 1881, building south to Belleville by that December, then finally to Candelaria the following March.^[6][7] This was initially indicated to be the road's terminal for a time, but the company began construction south into the Owens Valley in 1882 with the intention to connect to the Southern Pacific Railroad at Mojave.^[8] Interchanging with the railroads under the same corporate control at both ends of the railway seemed unlikely,^[8] but even an incomplete line was seen as having potential for mineral traffic.^[9] Finally, trains arrived at Keeler on August 1, 1883. The route reached an altitude of 7,100 feet (2,200 m) in Montgomery Pass.^[10] A short spur line from Hawthorne to Cottonwood was built to carry lumber, operating between 1891 and 1902.^[11]

The line showed profit for its first few years, even in an incomplete state, but the mining districts served had already bust.^[12] The three constituent companies which built and operated the line were reorganized as the Carson and Colorado Railway in 1892 to reduce accumulated debt.^[13][14][15]

From its inception, the Carson and Colorado was a hindrance to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad (V&T), the parent company of the C&C, who sold the line to the Southern Pacific Company in 1900.^[16] Darius Ogden Mills (part owner) was once quoted saying "Either we built the line 300 miles too long, or 300 years too early!" Silver and gold discoveries at Tonopah, Nevada and Goldfield, Nevada provided a major boost of revenues shortly after the Southern Pacific purchase.^[13] Initially planned as part of the railroad's more direct route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, the death of C.P. Huntington in 1901 would doom those plans as the Union Pacific Railroad became more tightly integrated to the Southern Pacific.^[17] From the time of the purchase until 1905, all of the C&C’s freight traveled over the V&T's trackage from Mound House to Reno, and vice versa. Because of the changeover from 3-foot (0.91 m) narrow gauge to standard gauge cars, all the freight had to be handled by hand at Mound House, which caused a great bottleneck, especially after the mining booms of Tonopah and Goldfield. Southern Pacific (SP) proffered an offer to purchase the V&T, but the price was placed too high. As a result, the SP began constructing the Hazen cutoff, which circumvented the V&T entirely after it opened.^[18] The northern 140 miles (230 km) from Mound House to Mina, Nevada was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1905; and the remaining C&C was merged into the Southern Pacific's 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge subsidiary, the Nevada and California Railroad.^[19] (The line between Tonopah Junction and Mina was laid to a dual gauge, allowing access to Mina's shops.^[20]) A new standard gauge line was run south of Owenyo after 1911, but it was mostly constructed to facilitate construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. This left a break of gauge where passengers were forced to transfer to the narrow gauge line to travel through the Owens Valley, and Southern Pacific did not intend to rectify this situation.^[21] The Nevada and California Railroad was reorganized into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1912.^[19]

In the early 20th century, it operated under the name "Southern Pacific Keeler Branch". Traffic on the north end was bolstered with the construction of the U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot at Hawthorne in 1928.^[22] Portions of the line were abandoned in the 1930s and the 1940s. The Mixed train service ceased in 1956.^[23] The last narrow gauge common carrier made its final run on April 29, 1960.^[24] The rails were removed in January, 1961.^[14]

The northern segment of line continued operation to serve the Hawthorne Army Depot.^[25] Tracks between Mina and Thorne were abandoned in the late 1980s, bringing the active line to 57 miles (92 km) in length. The United States Army purchased remaining segment of the line south of Wabuska in 1991 and set about upgrading tracks and bridges. By 2016, trains ran weekly as far south as Wabuska, with infrequent runs further to the Army Depot.^[22]

The following were towns or stops along the line:^[27][28]

• Mound House, Nevada (V&T Railroad to Carson City and Virginia City)
• Dayton, Nevada
• Fort Churchill, Nevada
• Wabuska, Nevada (Copper Belt Railway to Yerington)
• Lux, Nevada
• Moquist, Nevada
• Rio Vista, Nevada
• Schurz, Nevada
• Stuckey, Nevada
• Copperhill, Nevada
• Gillis, Nevada
• Rand, Nevada
• Magnus, Nevada
• Walker, Nevada
• Thorne, Nevada
• Hawthorne, Nevada (branch to Cottonwood)
• Cottonwood, Nevada (branch only)
• Kinkead, Nevada
• Luning, Nevada
• New Boston, Nevada
• Mina, Nevada
• Sodaville, Nevada (Soda Springs)
• Rhodes, Nevada
• Tonopah Junction, Nevada (Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad)
• Belleville, Nevada
• Filben, Nevada (spur to Candelaria)^[27]
• Candelaria, Nevada (spur only)
• Basalt, Nevada
• Summit, Nevada (Mt. Montgomery)
• Queen, Nevada
• Benton, California
• Hammil Valley, California
• Laws, California, Owensville
• Zurich, California
• Monola, California (formerly Alvord)
• Kearsarge, California
• Manzanar, California
• Owenyo, California (Southern Pacific Railroad to Lone Pine, Ridgecrest, and Los Angeles)
• Alico, California
• Dolomite, California
• Mock, California
• Swansea, California
• Keeler, California

In Independence, California, a non-profit group re-incorporated the Carson and Colorado Railway. They have restored locomotive #18, which was left in Independence in excellent condition by the Southern Pacific in 1955. The locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in 62 years on Saturday October 15, 2016. The locomotive is currently housed in a two stall engine house at the Eastern California Museum in Independence, CA. There is close to 1,000 feet (300 m) of track for it to operate on. Former SP boxcars #1C and #15 are on rail with engine #18 as part of the exhibit.^[29]

• Southern Pacific 8
• Southern Pacific 9
• Southern Pacific 18

• Guide to the Carson & Colorado Railroad Company records, 1881–1901, at The Bancroft Library
• A Guide to the Carson and Colorado Railroad Records, NC71. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.

• The Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge
• Carson and Colorado Railway Restoration Effort
• Exploring a Ghost Railroad
• Carson and Colorado Railway Facebook Page