Nevada-California-Oregon Railway

Infobox rail
railroad_name=Nevada-California-Oregon Railway
logo_filename=NCO Logo.gif
logo_size=166
marks=N-C-O
locale=California, Oregon, and Nevada
start_year=1880| end_year=1925
successor_line=Southern Pacific Company
gauge=narrow gauge
hq_city=Reno, Nevada (1880-1918); Alturas, California (1918-1925)
system_

map_size=300
The Nevada-California-Oregon Railway was a narrow gauge railroad originally planned to connect Reno, Nevada to the Columbia River. However, only convert|238|mi of track were laid so service never extended beyond Lakeview, Oregon. Because of the company’s reputation for mismanagement, it was often called the "Narrow, Crooked & Ornery" railroad.

History

The railroad was organized in Reno in June 1880 as the Nevada and Oregon Railroad. It was decided that the best plan was to build north to the Columbia River to service cattle ranches and farms in northeastern California and eastern Oregon. The northern terminus was to be The Dalles, Oregon since that city was located on the Columbia River and had no eastern or southern rail connections at that time. [http://www.narrowgauge.net/nco_1.htm "N-C-O RY"] , Gage on the Net—Old Time Narrow Gage Railroading, Cedar Ridge, California, 2007.]

The company decided to lay narrow gauge track because it was cheaper the than standard gauge construction. Site survey and grading work for the railroad began in December 1880. The first spike was driven in Reno on 28 May 1881.Armstrong, Tom, [http://www.urbaneagle.com/nco/index.html "Nevada-California-Oregon Railway"] , Slim Rails, 2000.] However, the company was short of money so construction was slow. In addition, the board of directors was plagued by corruption and intrigue. One board meeting actually ended with a gun fight between two members. For a period of time, there were two separate boards of directors trying to run the company. [http://www.trainweb.org/highdesertrails/nco.html "Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad"] , High Desert Rails Railroading in Oregon's Outback (web-site maintained by Jeff Moore), updated as of 15 October 2007.]

The railroad reached Oneida, California, convert|30|mi north of Reno, on 2 October 1882. Regular service between the two cities began a month later. However, track construction remained slow, and the company’s business problems continued to grow. The Moran Brothers bank in New York was the company’s largest investor. In April 1884, the bank took full control of the railroad, purchasing the company at a court ordered auction for just over $372,000. The company spent the next few years improving existing lines and trying to build up local business.

On 1 January 1893, the name of the railroad was changed to the Nevada-California-Oregon. The new initials coupled with it reputation for mismanagement led to the nickname "Narrow, Crooked & Ornery" railroad.

The next northward extension commenced in 1899. In April 1902, the line reached Madeline, California. The tracks were extended to Likely, California, in October 1907; Alturas, California, in December 1908; and finally, Lakeview, Oregon, on 10 January 1912. The company planned to continue north through Prineville, Oregon, to The Dalles, with separate branches running west to Klamath Falls and on to the Rogue River Valley, and over the Cascade Mountains to Eugene, Oregon, in the Willamette Valley. However, no further construction ever took place.

Financially, the railroad’s best year was 1913, but decline followed quickly. In 1917, the company began selling branch lines in California. The next year, the Reno station was closed, and the company headquarters and maintenance shop were relocated to Alturas. By 1922, the railroad was in serious financial trouble, and the Moran Bank wanted out of the business. On 30 April 1925, the Southern Pacific Company purchased the company. By 1928, Southern Pacific had converted all the remaining Nevada-California-Oregon track to standard gauge and sold its narrow gauge equipment. Several locomotives subsequently ran on the former Carson and Colorado Railroad. [Turner 1974, p.46]

Stations

The Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad built classic brick depots in Reno and Lakeview. A smaller stone masonry station was constructed in Alturas. All three passenger depots still exist, and are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places along with the Nevada-California-Oregon locomotive house and machine shop in Reno. [ [http://www.nps.gov/nr/index.htm National Register of Historic Places] , National Park Service, Washington, DC, 5 December 2007.] The N-C-O railway office in Alturas and the depot at Lakeview are examples of the 1880s style of architecture known as Mission Revival. The features include solid massive walls with buttressing, broad unadorned wall surfaces, wide projecting eaves, low-pitched tile roofs,corridors with Roman aqueduct-like arches, terraced bell towers and mission belfry facades. (See The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, No. 11, 1989.) The style showed up at Stanford University, the Southern Pacific depot in Santa Barbara and the Mission Inn in Riverside. The architect for the N-C-O buildings was Carl Werner of San Francisco.

Further reading

*
* Myrick, David. "Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California (Vol. 1)". Howell-North Books, 1962.

References

External links

* [http://www.trainweb.org/highdesertrails/index.html High Desert Rails]
* [http://www.narrowgauge.net/ Old Time Narrow Gage Railroading]
* [http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2JNP Lakeview Railroad Passenger Station]