Fund Raising Starts For “Queen Of The Short Lines”

Organizers are stepping up a fund-raising campaign to revive the historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad line between Carson City and nearby Gold Hill.

A silent auction of train collectibles will be held Saturday night at Carson City’s Plaza Hotel to raise money for the tourist attraction.

A similar auction in Reno in September grossed about $25,000 and allowed the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation to open a downtown Carson City office. Plans to rebuild 17 miles of the famed short line between Carson City and Gold Hill have been in the works for nine years.

The reconstructed line would connect to the two-and-a-half-mile segment between Gold Hill and Virginia City that already is a popular tourist attraction. It has been more than 60 years since the V and T Railroad, dubbed “Queen of the Short Lines,” last ran between Carson City and Virginia City.

Built in 1869 to carry gold and silver ore from the Comstock Lode to mills along the Carson River, it was abandoned in 1938, long after the major mines had played out. The rails were ripped out in 1941.