Lucius Beebe called the Virginia & Truckee "an institution of the old west." The line was almost as old as the transcontinental railroad itself, having been constructed in 1870 to serve the mines of the Comstock Lode and connect them with the Central Pacific's transcontinental mainline at Reno. The line as built had enough curves to  make a complete circle seventeen times, which earned it the sobriquet of "The Crookedest Railroad In The World". At least in its early years the railroad was enormously profitable, but once the mines played out the line entered a slow decline. By the time of this timetable the V. & T. was operating equipment that on any other railroad would have been considered antique, although that earned it a short spurt of revenue in the 1930s when Hollywood discovered the line and purchased some of its more picturesque rolling stock to use in Western films.

This timetable shows the V. & T.'s passenger service before the decline became terminal. In the late 1930s the railroad would be placed in receivership, and in 1941 the trackage from Carson City to Virginia City would be abandoned and scrapped. The railroad would continue operations with mixed train service through World War II, but the end would finally come and the railroad entirely abandoned in 1950.

Even so, in the hearts and minds of its fans the railroad refused to die. And in the late 1970s, it began to be reborn as a tourist attraction. Two miles of track were rebuilt between Virginia City and Gold Hill, and operation on that line resumed in 1977. Today there are plans to restore the old line as far as Carson City, and in future, who knows?

Visit the web page of the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation, promoters of the rebuilding effort.
Another good Virginia & Truckee history page.