The Nevada Copper Belt Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the state of

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 ...

connecting Nevada-Douglas Copper Company mining facilities to the

Southern Pacific 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 ...

's former

Carson and Colorado Railway The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. 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 the Carson and Colorado ''Railroad'', and constructio ...

subsidiary at

Wabuska, Nevada Wabuska is an unincorporated community in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The zip code is 89447, which it shares with nearby Yerington. Wabuska ( Washo language, ''White Grass'') was established in the early 1870s. A post office was open ...

. The railroad was built south from Wabuska to the

Walker River The Walker River is a river in west-central Nevada in the United States, approximately long. Fed principally by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada of California, it drains an arid portion of the Great Basin southeast of Reno and flows into the endor ...

Mason, Nevada Mason is an unincorporated community in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. History A post office was established at Mason in 1908, and remained in operation until 1961. The community was named after Henry "Hock" Mason, a pioneer citizen. Notab ...

in 1910, and began operations on 1 March. Railroad construction then proceeded up the

West Walker River The West Walker River is a tributary of the Walker River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011 in eastern California and western Nevada in t ...

canyon from Mason to leave the river at Hudson reaching the Nevada-Douglas Copper Company mine at Ludwig on 1 November 1911. Rails also extended north from Wabuska to a smelter at Thompson. Agricultural products from irrigated ranches along the Walker River provided revenues in addition to the ore traffic.

Decline

The railroad went into receivership in 1925, but traffic volume remained high until the Thompson smelter closed in 1929. The line from Hudson to Ludwig was abandoned when the Standard Gypsum Plaster plant closed in 1932. As trucks began hauling agricultural products, the railroad ceased passenger operations in 1945 and abandoned all operations in 1947.

Motive power roster

References

{{reflist Defunct Nevada railroads History of Lyon County, Nevada Railway companies established in 1910 Railway companies disestablished in 1947 1910 establishments in Nevada 1947 disestablishments in Nevada