We’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Technically National Train Day is the Saturday closest to May 10, but we’re not waiting! Tom Gray sent me this photo of work happening today:
On the left is Alex; swinging the hammer is Dennis. They are working on the shoofly that bypasses Tunnel 3. Tunnel 3 (Fort Homestead Tunnel) collapsed before the original Carson City to Virginia City line was shut down in 1938*. This is just past the pumpkin patch we will visit for the Pumpkin Trains this fall.
This section of track has been realigned this year — it runs about five feet to the side of the old track. It is the steepest, tightest curve on the railroad between Gold Hill and Virginia City. This type of track on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad earned it the name, “The Crookedest Railroad in the World.” Well, maybe it was due to some questionable business practices, when viewed in a modern light!
National Train Day is Saturday
National Train Day was started in 2008 by Amtrak to honor the Golden Spike anniversary in Promontory, Utah. On May 10 the Golden Spike National Monument holds an extra special Golden Spike re-enactment. It features a speaker and a full-day program. You can see the 2017 schedule. Don’t fret if you missed May 10 this year! Every weekend during their operating season they run live steam replicas of the Jupiter and #119 featuring volunteer re-enactors wearing period costumes. Promontory, Utah is in the middle of nowhere but it’s a great place to visit for any railfan!
When the Golden Spike National Monument first opened, they didn’t have their locomotive ready. There are many fans of Nevada’s most famous train: the V&T Railway #22 Inyo, currently at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Little known is the fact that this locomotive was a former TV and movie star. It was used for the Golden Spike ceremony in the movie Union Pacific and also for the TV show Wild Wild West. When its TV and movie career ended, the Inyo was loaned to the Promontory landmark and painted as the Jupiter until 1979**.
* I believe I read this in Gordon Sampson’s oral history at UNR, if anyone has a good source on the exact date the tunnel collapsed please let me know. I probably need to pick up a copy of Stephen Drew’s book.
** Wikipedia contributors. “Golden spike.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Mar. 2017. Web. 10 May. 2017., see section titled “Trains”
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