23-483: The Nevada–California–Oregon Railway was a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railroad originally planned to connect Reno , Nevada , to the Columbia River . However, only 238 mi (383 km) of track were laid so service never extended beyond Lakeview , Oregon . Because of the company’s reputation for mismanagement, it was often called the "Narrow, Crooked & Ornery" railroad. The railroad
46-479: A gun fight between two members. For a period of time, there were two separate boards of directors trying to run the company. The railroad reached Oneida, California, 30 mi (48 km) north of Reno, on October 2, 1882. Regular service between the two cities began a month later. However, track construction remained slow, and the company’s business problems continued to grow. The Moran Brothers bank in New York
69-589: A major boost of revenues shortly after the Southern Pacific purchase. 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
92-560: Is the dominant gauge on the Isle of Man , where it is known as the Manx Standard Gauge . Modern 3 ft gauge railways are most commonly found in isolated mountainous areas, on small islands, or in large-scale amusement parks and theme parks (see table below). This gauge is also popular in model railroading (particularly in G scale ), and model prototypes of these railways have been made by several model train brands around
115-714: The Modoc Line Rail Trail . The Nevada–California–Oregon Railroad built classic brick depots in Reno and Lakeview. A smaller stone masonry station was constructed in Alturas. All three passenger depots still exist, and are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places along with the locomotive house and machine shop in Reno. The N-C-O railway office in Alturas and
138-580: The Oahu Railway and Land Company during World War II. On October 20, 1985, Southern Pacific abandoned the 54.45-mile (87.63 km) section between Lakeview, Oregon and Alturas, California , which is now operated by Lake County Oregon as the Lake County Railroad , running about 20 cars per week in two trips per week. At Alturas it joins with Union Pacific . The line from south of Alturas to Wendel, California has been converted into
161-587: The Southern Pacific Company purchased the company. By 1928, Southern Pacific had converted all the remaining Nevada–California–Oregon track to 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge and sold its 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge equipment. Several locomotives subsequently ran on the former Carson and Colorado Railroad . One was sold to the Pacific Coast Railway , and later passed to
184-561: The Willamette Valley . However, no further construction ever took place. Locomotives were converted from wood fuel to oil-burners by 1910. Financially, the railroad's best year was 1913, but decline followed quickly as traffic shifted to the recently completed standard-gauge Western Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific branch to Susanville. The railroad's last rolling stock purchase was in 1915 when two locomotives, three passenger cars , two mail cars , and 78 freight cars from
207-815: The Carson and Colorado Railroad , and construction on the railroad began on May 31, 1880. The narrow gauge track was chosen to reduce cost. 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 . The Carson and Colorado began operations with a single Baldwin 4-4-0 , the Candelaria . The first train arrived at Keeler on August 1, 1883. The 300-mile (480 km) route reached an altitude of 7,100 feet (2,200 m) in Montgomery Pass . The railroad served an arid area heavily dependent on mineral resources for economic activity. The line
230-715: The Southern Pacific depot in Santa Barbara and the Mission Inn in Riverside. The architect for many N-C-O buildings was Carl Werner of San Francisco. However, he did not design the railroad's three main depots. 3 ft gauge railways Three foot gauge railways have a track gauge of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) or 1 yard . This gauge is a narrow gauge and is generally found throughout North , Central , and South America . In Ireland , many secondary and industrial lines were built to 3 ft gauge, and it
253-529: The depot at Lakeview are examples of the 1880s style of architecture known as Mission Revival. The features include solid massive walls with buttressing, broad unadorned wall surfaces, wide projecting eaves, low-pitched tile roofs, corridors with Roman aqueduct-like arches, terraced bell towers and mission belfry facades. (See The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, No. 11, 1989.) The style showed up at Stanford University,
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#1732773068289276-525: The dismantled Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad were obtained for the bargain price of $ 22,750. In 1917, the company began selling branch lines in California. The next year, the Reno station was closed, and the company headquarters and maintenance shop were relocated to Alturas. By 1922, the railroad was in serious financial trouble, and the Moran Bank wanted out of the business. On April 30, 1925,
299-466: The future. The following were towns or stops along the line: 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
322-470: The last narrow gauge common carrier made its final run on April 29, 1960. The rails were removed in January, 1961. The former parent company, Virginia and Truckee Railroad, has been reconstructed from Virginia City to a station near Mound House. Passenger (tourist) service has been restored along much of the original V&T right of way, with investigations into returning service to Carson City again in
345-675: The line reached Madeline, California. The tracks were extended to Likely, California, in October 1907; Alturas, California , in December 1908; and finally, Lakeview, Oregon , on 10 January 1912. The company planned to continue north through Prineville, Oregon , to The Dalles, with separate branches running west to Klamath Falls and on to the Rogue River Valley , and over the Cascade Mountains to Eugene, Oregon , in
368-542: 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. 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
391-488: The network in the early 2000s, they were converted to 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) metre gauge . Carson and Colorado Railroad 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 . It was incorporated on May 10, 1880, as
414-533: The remaining C&C was merged into the Southern Pacific's 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge subsidiary, the Nevada and California Railroad . The Nevada and California Railroad was reorganized into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1912. In the early 20th century, it operated under the name "Southern Pacific Keeler Branch". Portions of the line were abandoned in the 1930s and the 1940s, and
437-591: The world, such as Accucraft Trains (US), Aristo-Craft Trains (US), Bachmann Industries (Hong Kong) , Delton Locomotive Works (US), LGB (Germany) , and PIKO (Germany) . The Ferrocarril de Sóller and the Tranvía de Sóller are located on Majorca in the Balearic Islands . The other railways of the Majorca rail network were also 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge, but with expansion and reconstruction of
460-416: Was cheaper than 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge construction. Site survey and grading work for the railroad began in December 1880. The first spike was driven in Reno on May 28, 1881. However, the company was short of money so construction was slow. In addition, the board of directors was plagued by corruption and intrigue. One board meeting actually ended with
483-594: Was organized in Reno in June 1880 as the Nevada and Oregon Railroad . It was decided that the best plan was to build north to the Columbia River to service cattle ranches and farms in northeastern California and eastern Oregon . The northern terminus was to be The Dalles, Oregon , since that city was located on the Columbia River and had no eastern or southern rail connections at that time. The company decided to lay 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge track because it
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#1732773068289506-562: Was reorganized as the Carson and Colorado Railway in 1892 to reduce accumulated debt. 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. 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
529-494: Was the company’s largest investor. In April 1884, the bank took full control of the railroad, purchasing the company at a court ordered auction for just over $ 372,000. The company spent the next few years improving existing lines and trying to build up local business. On January 1, 1893, the name of the railroad was changed to the Nevada–California–Oregon. The next northward extension commenced in 1899. In April 1902,
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