Railroad Adventures by ORE

Does the thought of old steam trains rushing across the Sierra Nevada range spark your interest?

How about the Transcontinental Railroad route in general?

What about old train stations from days gone by?

Or, best yet, would you like to ride on vintage steam trains?

If you have answered “yes”, then you have to come to the right place!

August 31, 2009:

Ever been to Virginia City, Nevada? Whether you answer Yes or No... You need to venture back up there. In 1869, at a cost of $1,500,000, a railroad was constructed by private investors to connect the silver mines at Virginia City to the mills in Carson City. The entire railroad vanished into history by 1950. Now the Good News... the railroad is being rebuilt to Carson City! www.steamtrain.org

Best RR Book of Nevada! Have you seen this fantastic book by Lawrence K. Hersh? "The Central Pacific Railroad Across Nevada 1868 & 1997". If you're a train fan of the CPRR, then we suggest you buy a copy. There are some great pictures in this book of then (1868), and now (1997) of the Transcontinental Railroad route. With side-by-side photos, you can compare THEN and NOW and see how things have changed in some cases, and in others not. Recently Lawrence has been filming portions of the CPRR, hopefully he'll have a video available soon. How about it?

Another great book I recently stumbled upon, and one with some great old photos is Southern Pacific on Donner Pass.

Below-Left: Here we are stopped near Humboldt Gate in 2004. Below-Right: #334 Humboldt Gate, taken by Mike Green in 2004, the dirt road in both photos is the original railbed; see Page-89 in Mr. Hersh’s book. If you like trains, buy this book!

Below-Left: Since 1868 trains have passed by Maiden's Grave, though she wasn't a maiden. For many many years the Railroad cared for the grave! It was also near here that the City of San Francisco crashed in 1939 (we now have photos of the wreck, click "next"). Below-Right: This is the Ely, Nevada RR Station as seen in 2004.

We are always out scouting railroad history and emigrant wagon roads in both Nevada, and California. We invite you to e-mail us regarding these adventures. You too could be part of the adventure! Ever thought of following the old railbed to Promontory Summit? We have! Join us next time?

In late 2006: We recently expanded our BLM permit area in Nevada, and it now covers from Fernley to Wells, and from I-80 freeway north to State-line! Inside this permit area is the complete route of the CPRR from the 1860s, and most of the emigrant (California/Donner) trail from 1841, and the Applegate-Lassen Trial of 1846. For Trail Adventures, click link: Family Adventures

Just think of all those towns along Interstate-80 from Sacramento and out across Nevada, had it not been for the Transcontinental Railroad there would be no Colfax, Cisco Grove, Sparks, Carlin or Elko. And it is this route that we have been exploring. For more on the photos above, read about our Nevada Adventure here; Towns, Trains and Trails of Nevada 2004

We are always posting more photo's, so take a peak inside, or drop by again later. MG

For more photos... NEXT PAGE

revised 1/2010