More rail for V&T Railway project to arrive next week

The Virginia & Truckee Railway will receive its first delivery of light rail next week, a project contractor said Monday. It is the type of rail that engineers prefer for the reconstruction of the tourist railroad from Gold Hill to Carson City.

Joe Hattrup, owner of the Griffin Group, said that the 90-pound rail will be put into storage at American Flat for the next phase of construction.

A 132-pound rail track was laid from the Gold Hill Depot to American Flat for the first mile-long phase of the project. This rail was donated to the project by Reno retrack about two years ago. Hattrup made a deal with the state commission in charge of the project to sort the used rail and salvage it to purchase one mile of lighter rail.

The project needs another 15 miles of rail to make it into Carson City.

The light rail is about 20 years old and comes from the Tracy (Calif.) Depot. It was last used by the Department of Defense to distribute munitions, Hattrup said. He estimated that the third of a mile of track is worth about $18,000.

Project engineer Ken Dorr has said the heavier rail is not necessary for the tourist railroad. It's also difficult to bend into place to match the tight curves of the historic V&T right-of-way.

The group is working to secure another mile of 90-pound rail from a Bay area source.

"Any time you can take something that's not being used for anything and give it a new life, that's a good thing," Hattrup said.

If Hattrup is able to supply more light rail suitable for the V&T, he will be compensated by the commission, Dorr said. The pay rate has not been determined.

"The rail that we want to use is 90-pound rail," the engineer said. "It's called class-one rail. In other words, it's practically going to be brand new. It's not going to be worn out."

He'll inspect it next week, and if it's not up to expectations, "it's going to go away."

Of the $20 million to $25 million needed to built the project into Carson City, about $9.5 million is needed just for track construction, which is the most costly aspect of the railway. If the commission acquires the rail in advance, that could save it up to $1.2 million, Dorr said. The entire railway, which should be operating by 2010, is expected to cost up to $40 million.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.