Derailed V&T train back on track, ready for weekend runs

Some 18 hours after the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Engine No. 29 derailed Sunday at the Gold Hill crossing, blocking the road to Virginia City, crews got the train back on track and reopened State Route 342 just after noon Monday.

A burst of rain and hail washed sand and rocks into the flange way at the Gold Hill crossing, derailing the engine after its last run Sunday, said Kevin Ray, project manager of the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway.

Ray said the train was on its way to the depot and carried about seven passengers. No injuries were reported.

Dale Diessner lives just feet away from the Gold Hill crossing and has grown accustomed to the train whistle sounding as it crosses the road. But Sunday's final run into the depot was different, he said.

"When I didn't hear a horn go off, I knew something happened," he said.

The engine slipped off the track about 6 p.m., and slid another 10 feet before stopping.

Monday as crews with Walker A K & W Crane Service worked to get the 50,000-ton engine back on the tracks, Diessner used his push broom to clear his driveway, which also fell victim to the sudden rain burst.

"All that mud and crud got in the tracks," he said.

Kevin Ray said the incident would have been more serious if hadn't been for the crew of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company, which has been running trains on this track for 35 years.

"They were going very slow, certainly they were exercising caution. They were very aware and we were fortunate to have such an experienced team bringing the train home," he said.

The train will resume its regularly scheduled weekend operations Friday.

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad provides weekend rides along 16 miles of the historic route between Carson City and Virginia City made famous by the Comstock Silver Boom of the 1850s.

The original route was reconstructed then re-opened last summer as a tourist attraction.

The shortline, the historic route from Virginia City to Gold Hill, continued operations Monday after Engine No. 29 was removed from the track.