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Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company

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Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company
Overview
HeadquartersTruckee, California
LocaleTahoe City, California
Dates of operation1899–1925
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge
3 ft (914 mm) gauge

The Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company was a 16-mile (26 km), 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that ran from the Central Pacific Railway at Truckee, California to the waterfront at Lake Tahoe. The railroad's width was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1926. The railroad operated its own property from 1899 until October 16, 1925, at which time it was leased to the Southern Pacific Company, which bought the property outright in May, 1933.[1] SP abandoned the line in 1943.

The Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company operated a narrow gauge railroad between Truckee and Lake Tahoe, California assembled from equipment formerly used on the Lake Tahoe Railroad of Glenbrook, Nevada (USA). A separate company known as the Lake Tahoe Railway (c. 1904) proposed to build a 65-mile (105 km) standard gauge line northeast from Placerville to Pino Grande and then Lake Tahoe but construction never commenced.

Timeline

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Train bound for Lake Tahoe in Truckee, California
  • December 19, 1898 – Railway Incorporated
  • May 1, 1900 – Operations commence between Truckee and Lake Tahoe
  • October 16, 1925 – Railway leased to Southern Pacific Railroad
  • May 15, 1926 – Line converted to Standard Gauge by SP
  • May 1933 – Railway sold to SP
  • November 10, 1943 – Line abandoned by SP

Route

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The railroad followed the Truckee River approximately via the modern route of State Route 89.[2]

Ward Creek Branch

  • Ward Creek

Motive Power

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The LT RR had four used 3 ft (914 mm) gauge Baldwin locomotives that operated on the line.

LT&T Ry No. Locomotive Type Builder Builder No. Date Built Acquired Disposition
1 2-6-0 Baldwin 3712 March 1875 January 31, 1899 from Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company #1 Restored in 2015, by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City
3 2-6-0 Baldwin 4062 April 1877 January 31, 1899 from Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company #3 Scrapped in 1926 in Sacramento
5 4-4-0 Baldwin 4222 December 1877 October 15, 1906 from South Pacific Coast Railroad #5 Scrapped in 1926 in Sacramento
13 2-8-0 Baldwin 6157 April 1882 August 13, 1915 from South Pacific Coast Railroad #13 Scrapped in November 1927 in Sacramento

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Moody's Transportation Manual, 1989, p. 329
  2. ^ "Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company" (PDF). Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  • Fickewirth, Alvin A. (1992). California railroads: an encyclopedia of cable car, common carrier, horsecar, industrial, interurban, logging, monorail, motor road, shortlines, streetcar, switching and terminal railroads in California (1851-1992). San Marino, California: Golden West Books. p. 65. ISBN 0-87095-106-8.
  • Gross, Joe (2000). Railroads of North America (Third ed.). Rochester, New York: Railroad Research Publications. p. 113. ISBN 1-884650-10-4.
  • Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History — Volume IV — California. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers. p. 135. ISBN 0-87004-385-4.
  • Walker, Mike (1997). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada (Post Merger ed.). Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-874745-08-0.
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