Locomotive eventually destined for V&T

A steam engine that will eventually travel the Virginia & Truckee tourist railway followed the old railroad route south to Minden and then kept on going.

But the 90-ton locomotive and tender had to stop in Woodfords on Wednesday to wait out a storm that set chain controls over Highway 88.

The McCloud River Railroad No. 18 Mikado engine is on its way to a tourist railroad in Oakdale, Calif., where it will operate on the Sierra Railroad Dinner Train and the Sacramento River Train to generate interest in the future V&T.

"We're waiting for chain restrictions to be lifted," said Robert Pinoli, vice president of tourist operations for Sierra Railroad.

The train has been in storage for about two years, according to a spokeswoman for Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, located in McCloud, Calif., near Mount Shasta.

A load the size of this locomotive and its tender cannot be moved with any snow on the ground. The estimated cost of moving the locomotive from McCloud is $12,000. That cost was steadily increasing.

The train and tender are on loan to Sierra Railroad's tourist rail in Oakdale. The Sacramento company was awarded the contract to operate the V&T by the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the 18-mile V&T Railway in late 2006.

The train route from Carson City to Virginia City is expected to begin operating in 2010.

McCloud is a few miles east of Mount Shasta on Highway 89. However, CalTrans would not allow the train to be hauled down Interstate 5, which meant it had to take the scenic route down Highway 395 through Nevada and then over Highway 88, according to Pinoli. The alternate route added nearly 100 miles to the trip.

"One of the things Caltrans looks at when routing big pieces of equipment, or trucks with equipment, are thoroughfares that are not heavily traveled," Pinoli said. "Though you can't convince me that hitting Reno at 5 p.m. isn't a bad idea."