The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. narrow gauge railroad that ran from Mound House,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, to Keeler,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

below the

Cerro Gordo Mines The Cerro Gordo Mines are a collection of abandoned mines located in the Inyo Mountains, in Inyo County, near Lone Pine, California. Mining operations spanned 1866 to 1957, producing high grade silver, lead, zinc ore, and more rarely gold ore and ...

. It was incorporated on May 10, 1880 as 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 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast. US 95 begins in San Luis, ...

Nevada State Route 360 State Route 360 (SR 360) is a state highway in the southern portion of Mineral County, Nevada, United States. The route connects the former town of Basalt to the rest of Mineral County. A road has been in the place of SR 360 since 1919, and bec ...

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

, and

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road be ...

. The Carson and Colorado began operations with a single Baldwin , the ''Candelaria''. The first train arrived at Keeler on August 1, 1883. The route reached an altitude of in Montgomery Pass. The railroad served an arid area heavily dependent on mineral resources for economic activity. The line was reorganized as the Carson and Colorado ''Railway'' in 1892 to reduce accumulated debt.Turner 1974 p.4

Sale to the Southern Pacific

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 Tonopah ( , Shoshoni language: Tonampaa) is an unincorporated town in, and the county seat of, Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95, approximately midway between Las Vegas and Reno. In the 2 ...

and Goldfield, Nevada provided 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 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. The northern from Mound House to

Mina, Nevada Mina is a census-designated place in Mineral County in west-central Nevada, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 95 (38° 23' 25" N 118° 06' 30" W) at an elevation of . The 2010 population was 155. History Mina was founded as a railro ...

was converted to in 1905; and the remaining C&C was merged into the Southern Pacific's narrow gauge subsidiary, the Nevada and California Railroad.Turner 1974 p.6 The Nevada and California Railroad was reorganized into the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

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 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 Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

again in the future.

Locomotives

Towns and railroad stations served by the C&C

Mound House, Nevada Mound House is a small unincorporated community in Lyon County, Nevada on U.S. Route 50 that is situated between Nevada's capital, Carson City, and Dayton. Its elevation is 4,974 feet (1,516 m). It is in Lyon County, one of eight Neva ...

( 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 Schurz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. The population was 658 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Walker River Indian Reservation. It is the burial place of Wovoka, the Paiute messiah who originat ...

* Stuckey, Nevada * Copperhill, Nevada * Gillis, Nevada * Rand, Nevada * Magnus, Nevada * Walker, Nevada *

Thorne, Nevada Thorne, Nevada is a rail junction and former town located in Mineral County, Nevada. In 1881, Thorne was a station on the Carson and Colorado Railway. In 1905, the spur line to Hawthorne was abandoned and Thorne became the terminus for Hawthorne. ...

* Hawthorne, Nevada (branch to Cottonwood) *Cottonwood, Nevada (branch only) * Kinkead, Nevada *

Luning, Nevada Luning (formerly Deep Wells) is an unincorporated town in Mineral County, Nevada, in the United States. Luning is located on U.S. Route 95, between Hawthorne and Mina. Luning had an active railroad loading facility for many years. Magnesium ore ...

* New Boston, Nevada *

Sodaville, Nevada Sodaville is an extinct town in Mineral County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place. History A variant name was "Soda Springs". A post office called Sodaville was established in 1882, and remained in operat ...

(Soda Springs) * Rhodes, Nevada * Tonopah Junction, Nevada (

Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad The Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad, a railroad of in length in the U.S. state of Nevada, offered point-to-point service between Mina and Goldfield, running over the Excelsior Mountains and parallel to the Monte Cristo Range. It operated from ...

) *

Belleville, Nevada Belleville, Nevada, in Mineral County, Nevada, United States, was a mining town that rose up around the milling of ore shipped in from nearby mines. Today it is a ghost town. History Belleville was founded in 1873 or 1874 and its primary industry ...

* Filben, Nevada (spur to Candelaria) *

Candelaria, Nevada Candelaria is a ghost town in Mineral County, Nevada. Today the site of Candelaria is dominated by the Kinross Gold Candelaria Mine on Mt. Diablo. History Candelaria was founded in 1864 when Mexican prospectors working the area discovered silv ...

(spur only) *

Basalt, Nevada Basalt is a formerly populated place located in Mineral County, Nevada. Basalt was a station on the Carson and Colorado Railway. The Basalt Post Office operated from March 1906 until August 1906. In 1905, Diatomaceous Earth Diatomaceous ...

* Summit, Nevada (Mt. Montgomery) * Queen, Nevada * Benton, California * Hammill, California *

Laws, California Laws (formerly, Station and Bishop Depot) is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California. Laws is located northeast of Bishop on U.S. Route 6, towards the Nevada state line. Geography The U.S. Geological Survey shows official coordi ...

, Owensville *

Zurich, California Zurich (formerly, Alvord and Station) is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was a stop of the Carson and Colorado Railway. It is located northeast of Big Pine, at an elevation of 3934 feet (1199 m). Zurich was established in 1884 ...

* Monola, California (formerly Alvord) *

Kearsarge, California Kearsarge (formerly, Kearsarge Station and Citrus) is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California in the Owens Valley. It is located on the former route of the Southern Pacific Railroad east of Independence Independence i ...

* Manzanar, California * Owenyo, California (

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

to Lone Pine, Ridgecrest, and Los Angeles) * Alico, California *

Dolomite, California Dolomite is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad south of New York Butte in the Owens Valley, at an elevation of 3674 feet (1120 m). Originally, in 1883, a siding on the Carson a ...

* Mock, California *

Swansea, California Swansea is a former settlement and unincorporated community in Inyo County, California. It is located south of New York Butte, at an elevation of . Swansea was a boomtown located on the eastern shore of Owens Lake. Spawned by the success of th ...

Keeler, California Keeler, formerly known as Hawley, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Keeler is located on the east shore of Owens Lake south-southeast of New York Butte. The population was 71 people at the 2020 census, ...

Restoration effort

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 1000 feet of track for it to operate on. Former SP boxcars #1C and #15 are on rail with engine #18 as part of the exhibit.

Gallery of C&C equipment

File:Southern Pacific Engine 9.jpg, The second engine #9, painted in Southern Pacific livery, currently located at the Laws Railroad Museum in Laws, California. File:SP No. 18.jpg, The engine #18, painted in Southern Pacific livery, currently located in Independence, California. Restored and Operable. File:Carson & Colorado Caboose 1.jpg, Carson & Colorado Caboose #1, currently located at the Laws Railroad Museum in Laws, California. File:Carson & Colorado boxcar.jpg, Carson & Colorado boxcar #7, currently located at the Laws Railroad Museum in Laws, California. File:'Travel Town Museum' 56.jpg, Live stock car #163, currently located at the

Travel Town Museum Travel Town Museum is a railway museum dedicated on December 14, 1952, and located in the northwest corner of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California's Griffith Park. The history of railroad transportation in the western United States fr ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. File:'Travel Town Museum' 57.jpg, Carter Brothers box car #1, currently located at the Travel Town Museum in Los Angeles, California.

References

Bibliography

* *

Sources

Guide to the Carson & Colorado Railroad Company records, 1881–1901
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

A Guide to the Carson and Colorado Railroad Records, NC71
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.

External links

Carson and Colorado Railway Restoration Effort

Carson and Colorado Railway Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson Colorado Railway Defunct California railroads Defunct Nevada railroads Narrow gauge railroads in California Narrow gauge railroads in Nevada 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Mining in California Mojave Desert Owens Valley History of Inyo County, California Mining in Nevada Railway companies established in 1892 Railway companies disestablished in 1905 1892 establishments in California 1905 disestablishments in California Closed railway lines in the United States