Eureka and Palisade Railroad
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Palisade, Nevada |
| Locale | Palisade - Eureka, Nevada |
| Dates of operation | 1873–1938 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
The Eureka and Palisade Railroad was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad constructed in 1873-1875 between Palisade and Eureka, Nevada, a distance of approximately 85 miles (137 km). The railroad was constructed to connect Eureka, the center of a rich silver mining area, with the national railway network at Palisade.
Later corporate reorganizations brought on by financial difficulties saw the line operated as the "Eureka and Palisade Railway" and the "Eureka-Nevada Railway."
As early as 1871, shortly after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, and just a year after the original strike was made, people in Eureka could see the advantages of building a railroad to connect them with the Central Pacific Railroad transcontinental line. Ore had to be shipped to Salt Lake City for final refining, and getting it north to Palisade, Nevada (the nearest point on the Central Pacific) by wagon was very expensive - about 20 dollars per ton. And, to get mining supplies southbound, the rates were twice as high. Building a railroad would result in significantly lower freight rates.
The Eureka & Palisade Railroad was built in 1875 to carry silver-lead ore from Eureka, Nevada, to the Central Pacific Railroad (later Southern Pacific Railroad) trunk line that ran through Palisade. Nevertheless, despite the determined and colorful management style of John Sexton, the line succumbed to the effects of flood, fire, competing road traffic, and dwindling amounts of ore extracted in Eureka. The rails and rolling stock of the railroad were removed in 1938.
The Eureka, one of the railroad's only surviving steam locomotives, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Eureka-Nevada Railway's second locomotive number 12 is preserved at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. Another locomotive that has survived is #7, a 2-6-2 Prairie named Pufferbilly that was built in 1915 by the H.K. Porter Company. It is privately owned by Gary Norton and can be seen at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho where it runs daily during theme park operation.