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Virginia and Truckee Railroad No. 12, nicknamed Genoa, is a 4-4-0 American steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in January 1873 for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. [1] She is one of three largely identical 4-4-0 locomotives built by Baldwin for the railroad, the others being the Reno and the Inyo, and one of four V&T 4-4-0's preserved (the aforementioned three and the Dayton).
Upon receiving the "Reno" from Baldwin in May of 1872, Virginia & Truckee General Manager H.M. Yerignton got his bosses at the Bank of California to agree to purchase an identical sister of their 1872 prize as insurance against the inevitable days when the Reno would be out of service. [2]
The Genoa was received by the V&T in 1873 and was immediately put into work hauling passenger trains between Virginia City, Carson City, and Reno where the V&T interchanged with the Central/Southern Pacific. Her early days would see her in service about once a week handling everything from locals, mixed trains, picnic specials, to the Lightning Express. Like her sisters, the Genoa would be upgraded with Miller platform couplers and Westinghouse Straight Air by 1880. During the 1880's and 1890's, the Genoa would be the primary engine for secondary passenger services or as the main backup to the Reno [3]
The Genoa would be rebuilt and modernized by the V&T with Tower Knuckle Couplers & Westinghouse Automatic Air as per the ICC regulations. The Genoa would re-enter traffic in 1902 and cover for the Reno & Inyo as they were upgraded and rebuilt. By 1908, the V&T would retire her from the roster and store her in the Carson City Enginehouse. Her last known fire-up was in 1912 when the V&T examined the possibility of using her to replace the Reno or Inyo in regular service. [2] This would not come to pass but instead see the Genoa be used as a ready parts source for her sisters.
In 1938 it was sold to Eastern Railroads President's Committee in New York. [4] It was restored to look like Central Pacific #60 Jupiter for the 1939 New York World's Fair. [1] 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, California. [4] 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. [1] In 1957 Genoa made a trip to San Francisco. [1] In 1969 it appeared as Jupiter at the Gold Spike Centennial at Promontory, Utah, opposite its sister locomotive #11 Reno dressed as Union Pacific 119. [5] [6] That year, it was donated to the state of California and was moved to Sacramento the following year. [7]
After its last wood-fired operation under steam in May 1979, #12 was restored to its 1902 appearance. [7] The restored locomotive then became part of the California State Railroad Museum'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. [2] In 2022, The Genoa was temporarily traded to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada, for two years, in exchange for their #18 The Dayton, which was built in the Central Pacific Railroad shops in Sacramento. [8]
The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incorporated in 1861, CPRR ceased independent operations in 1875 when the railroad was leased to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Its assets were formally merged into Southern Pacific in 1959.
America's first transcontinental railroad was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive U.S. land grants. Building was financed by both state and U.S. government subsidy bonds as well as by company-issued mortgage bonds. The Western Pacific Railroad Company built 132 miles (212 km) of track from the road's western terminus at Alameda/Oakland to Sacramento, California. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California (CPRR) constructed 690 miles (1,110 km) east from Sacramento to Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) built 1,085 miles (1,746 km) from the road's eastern terminus at the Missouri River settlements of Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska, westward to Promontory Summit.
The golden spike is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The term last spike has been used to refer to one driven at the usually ceremonial completion of any new railroad construction projects, particularly those in which construction is undertaken from two disparate origins towards a common meeting point. The spike is now displayed in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
Golden Spike National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in east-central Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The nearest city is Corinne, approximately 23 miles (37 km) east-southeast of the site.
The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the West. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California.
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is 14 miles (23 km) long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad which was originally built to serve the Comstock Lode mining communities of northwestern Nevada.
The Carson and Colorado Railway was a U.S. 3 ft 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 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, Nevada State Route 360, U.S. Route 6, and U.S. Route 395.
The Jupiter was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It made history when it joined the Union Pacific No. 119 at Promontory Summit, Utah, during the golden spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869.
The Virginia and Truckee 18 Dayton is a historic standard gauge steam locomotive on display in Sacramento, California. It spent its working life on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.
Union Pacific No. 119 was a 4-4-0 American type steam locomotive made famous for meeting the Central Pacific Railroad's Jupiter at Promontory Summit, Utah, during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869. The locomotive was built by Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey in 1868, along with numbers 116, 117, 118 and 120. The original was scrapped in 1903, but a replica now operates at the Golden Spike National Historical Park.
Chadwell O'Connor was an American inventor and steam engine enthusiast. He is most remembered as the inventor of an improved fluid-damped tripod head, for which he won Academy Awards in 1975 and 1992.
Glenbrook is a 2-6-0, Mogul type, narrow-gauge steam railway locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 for the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company's 3 ft Lake Tahoe narrow-gauge railroad.
AbrahamVan Santvoord Curry is considered the founding father of Carson City, Nevada. A native of the state of New York, he traveled to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush and settled in Nevada's Eagle Valley, where Carson City was established.
Virginia and Truckee Railroad Engine No. 27 is a historic standard gauge steam locomotive. It was on display at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada, but was traded with The Dayton and is currently on display at the Comstock Historical Center in Virginia City. It was the last locomotive acquired new by the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, and pulled the last commercial train for the V&T on May 31, 1950, the date that freight and passenger services officially terminated for the company. The locomotive was placed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its association with the Virginia and Truckee Railroad and transportation development in Nevada.
Virginia and Truckee Railroad No. 22, also known as the "Inyo", is a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive that was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 and pulled both passenger and freight trains. The Inyo weighs 68,000 lb (31,000 kg). Its 57 in (140 cm) driving wheels deliver 11,920 lb (5,410 kg) of tractive force. In 1877 it was fitted with air brakes and in 1910 it was converted to burn oil rather than wood.
The Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railroad Depot of Carson City, Nevada, is a historic railroad station that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is significant for its association with the economically important role of the V&T railroad historically in Carson City following discovery of the Comstock Lode mine in 1859. To a lesser degree, according to its NRHP nomination, the depot building is also significant architecturally "as a well-preserved example of a wood-frame passenger depot procured from a railroad company pattern book within the V&T's former sphere of operation."
Southern Pacific No. 18, also known as the "Slim Princess", is an oil-fired 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1911.
The Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company (C&TL&F) was formed to move lumber from trees growing along the shore of Lake Tahoe to the silver mines of the Comstock Lode. Between 1872 and 1898 C&TL&F transferred 750 million board foot of lumber logged from 80,000 acres (32,000 ha) of virgin timberland.
The Leviathan, officially known as Central Pacific #63, was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It was notable for helping construct the First transcontinental railroad before hauling Leland Stanford's special train, which was then passed on to sister engine #60, the Jupiter, to take part in the railroad's completion in 1869.
Virginia and Truckee Railroad No. 11, the "Reno", is a surviving 4-4-0, "American"-type steam locomotive. It is one of three largely identical 4-4-0 locomotives built by Baldwin for the railroad, the others being the Genoa and the Inyo, and one of four V&T 4-4-0's preserved. The engine is one of Hollywood's most prodigious Flanged Star, starring in over 120 films, commercials, and television episodes starting in 1937. Today, the 2nd oldest surviving example of the Baldwin 4-4-0 type is undergoing restoration at her original home in Virginia City, Nevada.
