Railroad Project On!

January 16, 2004

Virginia City, Nevada

Kim Fegert's dream is coming true.  So is the dream of many on the Comstock and in Northern Nevada.  The Virginia and Truckee Railroad reconstruction is finally to begin.

Fegert, you will recall, is the man who chained himself to the V&T rail until money could be raised for the project.  He is the president of the Gold Hill Historical Society, one of the key entities involved in the ambitious project to bring back the historic short line railroad route between Virginia City and Carson City.  Through dogged determination, Fegert seems to be the one who actually got the project started after a decade of good intentions by others.

This is not to say that the many dedicated people involved in the project had not accomplished anything in all the preceding years, but it is Fegert who decided to be the catalyst in the effort that had, only recently, reached a substantial momentum.

Fegert arranged to have rail and ties donated to the project from Southern Pacific Railroad and the Reno trench project.  Then he raised the money to move the materials to the V&T rail bed, and has arranged to start laying the track himself.

On Tuesday, the largest group involved in the project, consisting of both private and governmental entities, the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway took some very positive steps:  Carson Mayor, Ray Masayko, proposed the project to be put up for bid in 60 days.

At the most recent Story County Commissioners' meeting easements on several parcels of land were signed over to the railway commission.  Additional plans were  made to secure other easements including the possible use of eminent domain condemnation proceedings.

The cost of the track portion of the over-all project is estimated at $125,000.  At the Railroad Commission meeting, Monday, John Frahi, owner of the Atlantis Casino, donated $20,000 to the project.  The track, laid on the original railway route will be about 17 miles.  The first 11 miles will run from Gold Hill to Highway 50, with the remainder terminating near Deer Run road.

The two most expensive parts of the project will be crossing the Overman mining pit, in Gold Hill, where the original Crown Point Trestle once stood, and crossing Highway 50 with a donated railway bridge.

Mayor Masayko said, crossing the pit is projected to cost $4,000,000.  Tom Young, of the engineering firm of Loomis and Associates, said the bridge project will cost $660,000.  The bridge is expected to be delivered about the middle of February.

Storey County Commissioner, Bob Kershaw, said, "Reconstruction of the V&T is now a reality.  More progress has been made in the last 12 months than in the history of the project."  $1,000,000 from the Nevada Commission for Tourism has been pledged, but requires matching funds.

"We may get this going as early as May!" Fegert excitedly told the Register.  Fegert has raised approximately $30,000 single-handedly.

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