Railroad

Gerlach was developed as a watering station for the Western Pacific Railroad (WPRR).

Western Pacific - Feather River Route

Crossings

Union Pacific Crossing Hotline: 1-800-848-8715

• SR447 = 833-409F
• dunes = 833-410A (rumored to have been closed)
• Frog = 833-411A
• Trego = 833-412N

Sidings

Sidings listed West to East.

1. Calneva, California
2. Flanigan
   1. Kepler - Defunct siding listed on the c. 1914 map of the W.P.R.R.
3. Sand Pass
4. Bryant
5. Sano - 1954 Head on collision at Sano kills 1
6. Reynard - Location of a proposed but never built line to the Surprise Valley
7. Bronte
8. Phil
9. Gerlach
10. Ascalon
11. Trego
12. Cholona
13. Ronda
14. Sulphur
15. Floka - Fatal Train accident at Floka," 1970
16. Antelope - Location of boiler explosion that claimed three lives.
17. Jungo
18. Gaskell
19. Pronto
20. Raglan
21. Krum
22. Marcus
23. Winnemucca

(Source: http://www.notyourdomain.com/oldwest/places/wprr.htm)

c. 1914 map of the W.P.R.R. showing sidings

• See Western Pacific Mile Post Detail (1965 - 1974) for historical mileposts and lengths of sidings.

• Reno, Washoe Cty, Nevada 1920-21 City Directory Page 232 lists "Kepler, A station on W P Ry 2 miles west of Sandpass, the express and telegraph station and 46 miles west of Gerlach.

Hazards

Train Safety Warning at Black Rock Desert

http://ian.kluft.com/blackrock/DeadTruck.jpg

Virginia & Tonopah #13

The Virgina & Tonopah #13 was used between Gerlach and Empire from 1924 until 1931

• V&T Locomotive #13 "Empire" (Nevada State Railroad Museum)

... The locomotive was placed in storage and retired in 1918 because of declining business on the V&T. It was sold in 1924 to the Pacific Portland Cement Company of Gerlach, Nevada where it saw service as PPC Co. switcher No. 501 until 1931. In 1938 the Empire was donated to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. There it remained until 1966 when it underwent a cosmetic restoration at Bethlehem Steel Corporation's San Francisco shipbuilding yards. ...

• V&T Locomotive #13 (California State Railroad Museum)
• Ocean Shore Steam Locomotive Roster (cable-car-guy.com)

5 2-6-0 18x24 48" 124000 Baldwin 1908 Purchased new. Sold to Pacific Portland Cement Company as No. 2 in 1920; Operated at Pacific Portland Cement (PPC) plant, San Juan Bautista, 1927-1929, as No. 5; Operated at PPC plant Gerlach, Nevada as No. 5.

• 0-6-0 Baldwin cn32607 Jan. 1908, 1946 Sold to Pacific Portland Cement #1, Gerlack NV Scrapped 1951 and 0-6-0 Baldwin cn57209 Sept. 1923 1946 Sold to Pacific Portland Cement #10, Gerlach NV Scrapped 1951
• Roy D. Graves Pictorial Collection, Volume 92: Virginia and Truckee Railroad ":44 The Virginia and Truckee No. 13, the Empire, 2-6-0 type.] [Built by] Baldwin, 1873. 35 tons; 48 16/24; Cost $15,250. No. changed to 15 in 1881. Sold to Pacific Portland Cement Co. Number changed to 501. Taken at Gerlach, Nevada in 1925." (Description only)

Gerlach Train Station

• Fire destroys Gerlach shops WPRR Humb. Star, Oct 30, 1914
• "The Iron Age, Volume 94, Issues 14-27," p. 1162, "The Western Pacific Railway Company' shop and roundhouse were destroyed by fire on October 30. W.T. Jacobs, Mills Building, San Francisco, is purchasing agent."
• wprr to put up new roundhouse in Gerlach to replace the one that burned Reno Evening Gazette July 14, 1915
• Two story tall station in Nevada Historical Society wa06250 from the 1920s
• The California Zephyr stopped on its last run photo 1973?
• National Geographic Special says that trains no longer stop.
• photo of historical marker with station
• 2010 Photo
• Roy D. Graves Pictorial Collection, Volume 94: Western Pacific Railroad -- Stations and Scenes -- Sacramento Northern Description of other WPRR images.
  • :168 Gerlach station. Western Pacific Railroad. (Description only)

GE 70 Ton #101 and #501

The US Gypsum plant at Empire used two GE 70 Ton switchers (Holmes).

• #501 was built in 1954
• Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volume 1, p 337 By David F. Myrick
• WP & US Gypsum at Gerlach, Nevada, Spring 1974 #101
• Discussion about #101 and #501
• #501 from 1999
• "US Gypsum GE 70T III-B3 #501, Gerlach NV 2004, blt 1954 cn32204, John A McCulloch
• Norman W. Holmes, "United States Gypsum Railroad at Gerlach, Nevada," Western Pacific Headlight, Issue #26, Spring 2005. Excellent information and photos of USG engines at Empire.

California Zephyr

The California Zephyr passed through Gerlach.

• Photos of the 1955 Derailment of the California Zephyr near Sulphur.
• Photo of the Last California Zephyr thru Gerlach, 1973?
• Photo of the last California Zephyr: Early morning in Gerlach NV. Left to right is the WP station agent, waitress from the local restaurant, and the engineer and fireman for the last westbound Zephyr.

Links

• Nevada Heritage -- May 1907: Construction began on the Western Pacific Railroad, third and last transcontinental rail line to cross Nevada. The Western Pacific Railroad Company, incorporated in 1903, planned to link Salt Lake City and Oakland, California, along the route of the National Wagon Road of 1856. The railroad was completed in 1909; crossed Sierra Nevada Mountains at Beckwourth Pass.
• www.wplives.com/operations/divisions Western Pacific divisions
• http://www.scripophily.net/weparaco19.html
• Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society
  • Links
• Roy D. Graves Pictorial Collection, Volume 94: Western Pacific Railroad -- Stations and Scenes -- Sacramento Northern
  • :169 Trego station. Western Pacific Railroad. (Description only) Description of other WPRR images.
  • :168 Gerlach station. Western Pacific Railroad. (Description only)
• http://www.trainweb.org/chris/Trip_PacificLimited.html -- (w/ pictures, July 1992) ... Following a great show by the 3985 we continued west snaking our way to Antelope. We turned northwest across the barren desert to Floka were we made a curve by Pulpit Rock to Sulphur. We passed there siding at Ronda before we got stopped by a red signal just east of Cholona with the Pahsupp Mountains to the south. A call went out to the dispatcher who was having trouble clearing the signal. Telling the crew it might be ten minutes or more, they asked if they could do a photo runby while they waited. ... A positive answer was given, we all detrained, the 3985 backed before charging by us staying in the red block. As soon as we were all back on the train, the signal turned green and off we went west. We passed the Trejo Hot Spring prior to Trejo then ran along the edge of the Black Rock Desert before we arrived at our servicing stop at Gerlach. We Granite Point to the north we left Gerlach heading across the valley before we turned to the northwest to Phil where we rounded the north end of the Fox Range. Here we entered the Smoke Creek Desert as we ran southwest to Reynard before turning south to Sano. From here we climbed the grade to Sand Pass. we pulled down to the curve to turn west where we stopped for our third runby of the day. It was well over the hundred degree mark as we detrained and all climbed up a steep slope to stand for the runby which just also happened to be the location of one of the largest rattlesnake dens in the world. There were holes everywhere but with the heat we hoped that we would not meet any of those creatures. ... The train backed far around the curve and with the Smoke Creek Desert in the background came charging and smoking around the curve below. It was one of the most impressive locations for a runby ever and as we all walked back down to the train everyone was talking about how great that runby was. ...