A cheer went up on Wednesday afternoon when the train entered Tunnel 2, marking something that had not occurred in 70 years.
The dozens of people on board, many of whom have played roles in funding or reconstructing the V&T Railway, were celebrating the progress made on the current phase of construction, which will bring the tourist train to the outskirts of Carson City.
But Wednesday's trip may have meant the most to Ron Allen.
"This is for my dad," said Allen, a member of the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway.
His father, Patrick, was the last roadmaster for the original railroad, which meant he took care of the track and the facilities. Ron Allen remembers as a boy tagging along with his father on his rounds, and how much the track meant to him.
Patrick Allen, who worked for the V&T from 1937 to 1950, died in 1990. After the railroad closed, he tried to generate interest in rebuilding it, but the interest was never strong enough. At least not until the current commission began its work years later.
"Just before he passed away, he said to me, 'I know if the railroad is ever reconstructed, you'll have a part in it,'" Ron Allen said.
Wednesday's train was provided by the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, which operates a tourist train from Virginia City to Gold Hill that draws about 50,000 visitors per year.
The undercurrent to the event was the upcoming election. In Carson City, voters will decide whether to approve a 1Ú8th cent sales tax to raise another $10 million for the train in exchange for a cut of the profits. Mayor Marv Teixeira, who was on the train, told the crowd at a ribbon cutting ceremony midway on the trip that if voters approve the tax, it will be enough to bring the train within two miles of its final destination.
The Carson City Convention and Visitor's Bureau has been offering free train rides on a shorter portion of the V&T for Carson City residents during the month of October, so they can see firsthand the project they are being asked to fund. The 750 tickets allocated for the event were snapped up quickly, and the bureau is expected to decide next week whether to make more available.
The passengers on Wednesday's train weren't all in favor of the tax, but all seemed to appreciate the significance of the trip to upper Mound House.
"This is an historic event for us," Susan Dorr of Manhard Consulting, one of the project's contractors, told the riders. She and several others were dressed in clothes like those that might have been worn by riders on the original railroad in the 1800s. "You're going to be able to see Mound House and Carson City," she said.
She was right about Mound House, but the tracks weren't out quite far enough yet to afford a view of the capital city, something that will soon be remedied as work approaches Highway 50 and, its supporters hope, eventually all the way into Carson City.
• Contact Editor Barry Ginter at bginter@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1221.