The wind whistles. It doesn’t sound like a train whistle – but pretty close. Which is appropriate because the trail is named after the U.S. Government Construction Railroad, which once ran along this route. The railroad once carried thousands of tons of material used to construct nearby Hoover Dam, which has been called one of the world’s most impressive engineering projects. The trail along the old railroad line has been designated an official historic hiking trail in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The trailhead for the fairly easy hike is located about four miles northeast of Boulder City on U.S. 93. The U.S. Government Construction Railroad was a 6.7-mile rail line that was built in 1931 to link the Union Pacific Railroad line at Boulder City to the Hoover Dam site and to the Six Companies, Inc. Railroad. The latter carried gravel and other materials used in constructing the dam. Built by the federal government (hence its name), it was a challenge to construct because it required digging five tunnels (each of which is 300 feet long) in rough, dry, remote terrain. Additionally, builders contended with a number of road-cuts and fills of more than 100 feet high. Yet in spite of the obstacles, the line was completed in six months. Railroad historian David Myrick notes that from September 1931 to December 1961, when the line was abandoned, the U.S. Government Construction Railroad handled some 35,000 carloads of construction materials to Hoover Dam. The trailhead is located at a marked parking lot opposite the National Park Service’s Alan Bible Visitor Center. The trail winds out of the lot, in the shadow of the Hoover Dam Lodge & Casino (formerly known as the Hacienda Hotel and Casino), located a quarter mile away. About 300 yards from the parking lot, you reach a massive metal gate that blocks vehicular traffic from the route. The trail extends about 2.5 miles from this point (5 miles roundtrip or about two to three hours). You pass around the gate, which was originally built during World War II and erected on the road leading to Hoover Dam (it is so large because it was designed to prevent war-time saboteurs from reaching the dam). It was moved to its present location in 1975. From the gate, the trail begins a gradual climb. Ahead you see marvelous views of Lake Mead, the artificial lake created by Hoover Dam. Along the way, you can see rough-faced, red volcanic rock walls, the gray-yellow bunches of desert grasses and thin, waving mesquite bushes. Below the trail is Boulder Beach, a popular swimming and boating spot, as well as the Lake Mead Marina and Hemenway Harbor. On the opposite side of the lake, you can see the Muddy and Virgin mountains as well as Sentinel Island (identifiable by a dark lava cap on its top), which rises from its waters. About a quarter mile from the parking lot, you reach a steep embankment. Huge concrete chunks beside the trail are remnants of plugs taken out of Hoover Dam when its generator turbines were installed. A side trail near here leads south to the Gold Strike Casino. The path continues east toward the lake and affords increasingly impressive lake views. You walk through a few large road cuts and round a bend that leads to the first tunnel. These holes in the rock were built large. Measuring 25 feet high and 18 feet wide, they were oversized to fit the penstock sections and large equipment needed for the dam’s construction. According to Park Service information, the first tunnel has eight sections of vertical supports, several of which have horizontal planks to prevent loose rock from falling on the tracks, which were in use for 24 hours a day during the dam’s construction. The second tunnel is only a few hundred feet away. Its interior is a little different from the others (it is covered with a red-colored shotcrete) due to a 1990 fire that required it be given additional support. Tunnels 3 and 4 are located a half-mile or so farther. The third tunnel is said to house a colony of bats. The fifth and last tunnel, located another half-mile or so away, was actually closed following a fire in 1978, and then reopened in 2001. This tunnel is a bit longer than the others and has a slight bend in the middle, which makes it darker than the others. From the other side of the tunnel, the trail leads through another gate (the trail is not open at night) and continues on to Hoover Dam (another three miles away). At Tunnel 5, you can retrace the journey back to the parking lot or head to the dam. For information, go to www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/hikerr.htm
