Virginia and Truckee Railroad No. 12, named ''Genoa'', is a type 4-4-0 ''American'' standard gauge steam locomotive built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

in January 1873 for the

Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...

V&T Service

''Genoa'' was the second V&T passenger locomotive, as well as the second 4-4-0 the V&T acquired. Although it was designed for passenger service, it did pull mixed and occasionally freight trains. For 28 years, it hauled mainly passenger trains on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, but it also hauled freight trains, between

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 ...

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

, and

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, Nevada, on the V&T.

Excursion service

The locomotive was retired from service in 1908, and went into storage in the Carson City shops. In 1938 it was sold to Eastern Railroads in New York. It was restored to look like Central Pacific #60 ''Jupiter'' for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. In 1940 it was presented to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society and shipped to the Western Pacific Roundhouse in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California. The engine went to the 1948 Chicago's Railroad fair where it once again appeared as ''Jupiter''. In 1955, it operated on the Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad. In 1957 ''Genoa'' made a trip to San Francisco. In 1969 it appeared as ''Jupiter'' at the Gold Spike Centennial at

Promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

, Utah, opposite its sister locomotive #11 Reno dressed as Union Pacific 119. That year, it was donated to the state of California and was moved to Sacramento the following year. Railroad Museum display item 09

Static display

After its last wood-fired operation under steam in May 1979, #12 was restored to its 1902 appearance. The restored locomotive then became part of the

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic ...

's collection. It is displayed alongside a V&T coach, number 16. On a display of an example of a bridge from the late 19th century. In 2022, The Genoa was temporarily traded to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

, for two years, in exchange for their #18 The Dayton, which was built in 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 ...

shops in Sacramento.

References

{{Reflist 4-4-0 locomotives Baldwin locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States Preserved steam locomotives of Nevada Railway locomotives introduced in 1873 Virginia and Truckee Railroad