Road re-opened after V & T derails near Virginia City (UPDATE)
The V&T engine derailed last night at about 6:30 near Gold Hill after a series of heavy rains produced micro-mudslides, many of which may have flowed onto the V&T Railroad tracks. State Route 432 re-opened at 12:48 this afternoon, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.
The derailment was contained to the engine and was a weather-related mishap, said Kevin Ray, project coordinator for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway.
"Basically what happened is Engine 29 was put onto the ground right at the Gold Hill Road Crossing. Mud from the storm filled the flangeways and it popped off the track," Ray said. There were 12 passengers aboard and no one was hurt.
He added that the experienced engineers knew exactly what happened when the flangeway filled with mud and that's why no other cars fell off the track.
"The Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company has an excellent safety record. This was a common natural weather-related event and we are fortunate to work with such an experienced team," Ray said.
Helen Diessner, who lives in an apartment right next below where the tracks cross the road at Gold Hill, heard a lot of noise as the engine ground to a halt.
"There was a ton of dirt and rock that came sliding down after that rain we had," she said.
Diessner said that she talked to people in Dayton who said it didn't rain at all, so it was likely the train crew didn't know how heavy the downpour was when they started the trip up the hill.
State Route 432 had been closed this morning through noon as crews lift the train to put it back on the track, said Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Chuck Allen.
A series of thunderstorms rocked the region between Virginia City to the east and Lake Tahoe to the west, producing heavy rain, lightening and hail throughout the region.
The Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau issued the following statement this morning:
"All passengers were safely escorted from the Virginia & Truckee Railroad yesterday after a mud slide caused by a flash storm in the Eastern Sierra resulted in a partial engine derailment between Carson City and Virginia City.
"The engine will be back into place today and the V&T will resume its regularly scheduled weekend operations this Friday. The V&T Railroad provides weekend rides along 16 miles of the historic route between Carson City and Virginia City made famous by the Comstock Silver Boom of the 1850s. The original route through scenic Wild West landscape was reconstructed then re-opened last summer as a major tourism attraction. The historic route from Virginia City to Gold Hill is operating today with its normal schedule being resumed tomorrow.
"The Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company has an excellent safety record and is operated by an experienced team," said Candy Duncan of the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Operations are moving forward as scheduled for the weekend.”
For more information, call (775) 847-0380 or visit www.VisitCarsonCity.com.
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