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Eureka and Palisade Railroad

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Eureka & Palisade Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersPalisade, Nevada
LocalePalisade - Eureka, Nevada
Dates of operation1873–1938
Technical
Track gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Eureka Nevada Railway route in 1883
Route in 1931

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.

Eureka & Palisade #4, the "Eureka", still exists and has been carefully restored to operating condition by Daniel Markoff, a private collector in Nevada. Periodically he runs the engine for the public, typically on narrow-gauge trackage in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico.[1]

Later corporate reorganizations brought on by financial difficulties saw the line operated as the "Eureka and Palisade Railway" and the "Eureka Nevada Railway."

The Eureka & Palisade Railroad was built in 1875 to carry silver-lead ore from Eureka, Nevada, to the 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 last surviving narrow gauge railroad in Nevada were removed in 1938.[2]

The Eureka, one of the railroad's only surviving steam locomotives, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.[3] 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.

Steam Locomotives

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# Builder SN Type Built Acq Ret Disposition Notes
1 Mason Machine Works 461 0-4-4T 1872 1873 1875 Sold to Nevada Central #2 in 1879. First Mason Bogie locomotive, built for stock, sold to the American Fork Railroad #1 of Utah in 1873. Purchased from that road by the E&P. Renumbered on the NC to #3 in 1881. Sold in 1882 for use on the Utah & Northern. Gone by 1886. See link below.
2 Baldwin Locomotive Works 3638 2-6-0 8/1874 1874 1881 Sold to Bodie & Benton #3 Scrapped by the B&B when the road closed in 1918.
3 Baldwin Locomotive Works 3701 2-6-0 3/1875 1875 1918 Scrapped
4 Baldwin Locomotive Works 3763 4-4-0 7/1875 1875 1896 Sold to Hobart Estate #5 Sold to Warner Brothers in 1939. Currently privately owned in Las Vegas, Nevada. Preserved in operational condition.
5 Baldwin Locomotive Works 3826 4-4-0 1/1876 1876 Off roster by 1913. Scrapped? Renumbered to 3 in 1912.
5 Brooks Locomotive Works 530 2-6-0 1881 1912 1919 Rebuilt Renumbered 9 after rebuild. Originally Utah & Northern #31, renumbered to 88 in 1885. Sold between 1890 and 1892 to Sumpter Valley #5. Acquired from the SV in 1912.
6 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4375 2-6-0 7/1878 1878 Unknown Scrapped? Retained by the Eureka-Nevada Railroad
7 Baldwin Locomotive Works 6662 4-4-0 2/1883 1883 Unknown Scrapped? Retained by the Eureka-Nevada Railroad
7 H. K. Porter 5720 2-6-2 8/1915 1915 1939 Sold Preserved. Currently operational at the Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho.
8 Baldwin Locomotive Works 28806 2-8-0 1906 1906 1912 Sold to Sumpter Valley #14
8 H. K. Porter 5637 2-4-4T 3/1915 1915 1926 Rebuilt to 2-6-0
8 H. K. Porter Rebuild 2-6-0 3/1915 1926 1927 Burned in Engine House Fire, later scrapped. Previously engine #8.
9 Baldwin Locomotive Works 5285 4-4-0 1880 1907 1912 Sold to Sumpter Valley Railway #10 Built as Carson and Colorado Railway #1 "Candelaria". Purchased from that road by the E&P.
9 Brooks Locomotive Works Rebuild 2-6-0 1881 1919 1927 Burned in Engine House Fire, later scrapped. Previously engine #5.
10 Baldwin Locomotive Works 11075 2-8-0 1890 1910 1912 Sold to Sumpter Valley #15 Built for the Alberta Coal & Railway Company #7. Derailed soon after arrival. Left in place until 1912.
10 H. K. Porter 5893 2-6-4t 1916 1916 1926 Rebuilt to 2-6-0.
10 H. K. Porter Rebuild 2-6-0 1916 1926 1927 Burned in Engine House Fire later scrapped. Previously engine #10.
10 Baldwin Locomotive Works 24271 2-8-0 5/1904 1927 1938 Scrapped? Originally Uintah #10
11 H. K. Porter 6515 2-8-0 6/1920 1920 1936 Later Scrapped
12 Vulcan Iron Works 3322 2-8-0 3/1923 1923 1927 Burned in Engine House Fire Later Scrapped
12 Baldwin Locomotive Works 14771 2-8-0 3/1896 1937 1938 Sold Originally built as Florence & Cripple Creek #10. Became Cripple Creek & Colorado Springs #36 in 1915. Sold in 1917 to Uintah #12. Purchased from Uintah. Preserved. Currently on display at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City.
14 Baldwin Locomotive Works Unknown 2-6-0 1882 1912 Not known if ever delivered to the Railroad.
15 Baldwin Locomotive Works 4982 4-4-0 1/1880 1912 Unknown Unknown Built as Utah & Western #3, to Utah & Nevada #3 in 1881. Became Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern #285 in 1889. Sold to Sumpter Valley #4 in 1892, renumbered 15 in 1906. Purchased from the SV.
6 Baldwin Locomotive Works 21848 0-4-4T 3/1903 1920 1938 Scrapped Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon.
7 Baldwin Locomotive Works 21991 0-4-4T 5/1903 1920 1927 Unknown Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon.
8 Baldwin Locomotive Works 22002 0-4-4T 10/1903 1920 1927 Burned in Engine House Fire Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon. Later Scrapped.

https://utahrails.net/articles/mason-onward.php

Notes

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  1. ^ Saylor, Hali Bernstein. "Historic presence: steam engine takes up residence at train museum for holiday," Boulder City Review, Boulder, Nevada, December 6, 2017 (https://bouldercityreview.com/community/historic-presence-steam-engine-takes-up-residence-at-train-museum-for-holiday/) Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Jorja Muir, "Eureka and Palisade Railroad," Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Dec 1999, Vol. 99#4 pp 92-107
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Places". Retrieved 2007-10-11.

References

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