Nevada's Narrow Gauge Railroads

Austin City Railway

3' Gauge. The Austin City Railway was built in 1881 from the Nevada Central's terminal in Clifton to downtown Austin a distance of 2.8 miles. Operating on a heavy 7.5% grade, the line rostered a single 0-4-2T Dummy locomotive called "Mules Relief". The line operated until 1889 when reduced mining in the area forced the line to shut down. Clifton to Austin, Lander County. 1881 - 1889

Battle Mountain & Lewis

3' Gauge. The Battle Mountain & Lewis began life in 1881 effectively as a privately owned branch of the Nevada Central Railway with service from Battle Mountain to the mines at Lewis, Nevada. Always in severe financial crisis the road became a rarely used and short lived branch of the Nevada Central Railway and was gone by 1890. Lewis Junction to Lewis, Lander County. 1881 - 1885

Carson & Colorado Railroad

3' Gauge.Constructed by the Virginia and Truckee Railroad as a narrow gauge feeder, the Carson and Colorado operated nearly 300 miles of main line through some of Nevada's harshest climate ultimately reaching the Owen's Valley in California. The C & C operated under V & T control until 1900 when it was sold to the Southern Pacific becoming the Nevada and California Railway and later the Southern Pacific's "Slim Princess".
Mound House, NV to Keeler, CA . 1882 - 1900

Eureka & Palisade Railroad

3' Gauge. Palisades to Eureka. 1874 - 1938

Nevada & California Railroad

3' Gauge. Mound House, NV to Keeler, CA . 1900 - 1914

Nevada - California - Oregon Railroad

3' Gauge. Reno to Alturas, Ca. 1883 - 1924

Nevada Central Railroad

3' Gauge. Constructed to connect the rich mines in Austin and the Reese River Mining District with the Central Pacific at Battle Mountain. Initially profitable, the Nevada Central relied upon the mining in the area for traffic, profitable only when mines were operating at capacity. Mining tapered off by the early 1900s and the line hauled local goods until 1938. Battle Mountain to Austin, Lander County. 1879 - 1938

Southern Pacific (Narrow Gauge).

3' Gauge. Mound House, NV to Keeler, CA . 1882 - 1900

Dayton, Sutro & Carson Valley Railroad

3' Gauge. Initially constructed as the Lyon Mill & Mining Company, J.M. Douglas purchased the line from Fred Birdsall who had become interested in the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada in California. The line operated a single locomotive, a Porter 0-4-2 named "Joe Douglas" until some time in the 1890's when operations ended, the exact date currently unknown. Dayton (C&C) to Rock Point Mill (Dayton, NV). 1881 - ca. 1900

Eureka Mill Railroad

30" Gauge. Short by even shortline standards, this line was built by the Union Mill Co in 1872 due their Eureka Mill being in a location unreachable by the Virginia & Truckee along the Carson River. Initially horse drawn, a Porter 0-4-0T was purchased later. The mill burned down in 1892, leaving the railroad abandoned. Sometime after 1906 the equipment was sold and the 0-4-0T sold to a contractor, wound up abandoned in Butt Lake near Chester, California.
Santiago Canyon to Eureka Mill. 1872 - 1906

Rhodes Salt Works

3' Gauge.

Eureka & Ruby Hill Railroad

3' Gauge. Constructed to connect the Eureka Consolidated Mines with their smelter operations in Eureka, in 1875 the line was purchased by the Eureka & Palisade Railroad. Under E&P control, trackage was expanded to the Richmond Consolidated Mine and associated Smelter. In 1893 operations were abandoned after the mines shut down. In 1902 operations resumed on a smaller scale until the flood which wiped out much of the E&P in 1910.
Eureka to Ruby Hill, Eureka County. 1874 - 1893 and 1902 - 1910