The Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad was a standard gauge railroad which operated along 197 miles between the town of Las Vegas and Goldfield, NV. Despite the name of the route, service from Goldfield to Tonopah is complete on the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad.
History
Despite a verbal agreement with Francis Marion Smith in April, 1905, William A Clark incorporated the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad on September 22, 1905. By this time, Borax Smith graded about 12 miles of the track route for his operations in Lila C, or Ryan as it would later be known.
Following a no-trespassing order served to Smith, Clark initial started laying track up the valley from Las Vegas on the route graded by Borax Smith. Track reached Indian Springs from Las Vegas on March 1st, 1906. By June, 30th, 1906 rail is laid down all the way to Rose’s Well. The route to Rhyolite, Nevada is completed in December 1906. During the height of construction, the track gangs were pushing the track forward at a rate of about 1.5 miles per day and complete the route into Goldfield in November, 1907. A financial panic of 1907 caused the failure of the town of Rhyolite which served a major blow to the newly complete line.
The LV & T is merged with the Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad in 1914 when it operated some 15 locomotives. Between December 1906 and February 1st, 1917, daily train service hauled passengers, mail and freight between Las Vegas and Beatty. After February 1917, only three trains ran per week until 1919 when the railroad is closed and scrapped.
The Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad laid one mile of track per day, then two miles of track per day, in its hurry to connect Rhyolite with the outside world. The first train from the Las Vegas & Tonopah entered Rhyolite at 7 p.m. on December 14, 1906, with about 100 passengers.
Rhyolite Train Depot Marker
Las Vegas to Goldfield Route
The Las Vegas and Tonapah Railroad was 197 miles long 23 stops along the way. The trip took about 8 hours to complete with food service only being offered at Rhyolite.
- Goldfield ( Mile 0 )
- T & G Crossing ( Mile 1)
- Red Rock ( Mile 4)
- Ralston ( Mile 17 )
- Stonewall ( Mile 21 )
- Wagner ( Mile 28 )
- San Carlos ( Mile 34 )
- Bonnie Claire ( Mile 41 )
- Midway ( Mile 43 )
- Petersgold ( Mile 59 )
- Mud Spring (Mile 65
- Original ( Mile 70 )
- Rhyolite ( Mile 74 )
- Beatty ( Mile 79 )
- Gold Center (Mile 81 )
- Chloride ( Mile 87 )
- Rosewell ( Mile 97 )
- Canyon ( Mile 109 )
- Amaragosa (Mile 122 )
- Charleston ( Mile 138 )
- Indian Spring ( Mile153 )
- Owens ( Mile 169 )
- Corn Creek ( Mile 174 )
- Tule ( Mile 182 )
- Las Vegas ( Mile 197 )
Summary
| Name | Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad |
| Location | Clark County, Nevada Nye County, Nevada Esmeralda County, Nevada |
| Gauge | Standard Gauge – 4 feet 8.5 inches (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 197 miles |
| Years of Operation | 1906–1918 |
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