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. It was incorporated on May 10, 1880 as the Carson and Colorado "Railroad", and construction on the railroad began on May 31, 1880. A track gauge of RailGauge|36 was chosen to reduce cost. The Carson & 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 route reached an altitude of 7100 feet in Montgomery Pass. [Turner 1974 p.2] 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]

ale to the Southern Pacific

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad, the parent company of the C&C, sold the line to the Southern Pacific Company in 1900. Silver and gold discoveries at Tonopah, Nevada and Goldfield, Nevada provided a major boost of revenues shortly after the Southern Pacific purchase. [Turner 1974 p.4] The northern 140 miles from Mound House to Mina, Nevada was standard-gauged in 1905; and the 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 in 1912. [Turner 1974 p.6] Portions of the line were abandoned in the 1930s and the 1940s, and operations ceased entirely by 1960.

Locomotives

ources

* [http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~gtusa/usa/ca/ccrr.htm Exploring a Ghost Railroad]
* [http://www.girr.org/girr/relics/spng/spng.html The Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge]

References

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