V&T No. 11 Reno Chronology
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec 16 1871 | Ordered by the Virginia & Truckee Railroad |
| Jan 13 1872 | Order entered by M. Baird & Company’s Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania BLW Class No. 27-1/2 C 350, 350th locomotive built to class 27-1/2 C |
| May 1872 | Outshopped by Baldwin as construction No. 2816; invoiced at $12,500 Shipped Overland via Central Pacific R.R. |
| Jul 2 1872 | Received by V&T at Reno; set-up by V&T Master Mechanic J. W. Bowker at Steamboat Enginehouse; multi-color, wood-burner, Yankee balloon stack |
| Jul 11 1872 | First trial trip on V&T Reno Division between Steamboat and Reno; Pat Campbell, engineer |
| Sep 15 1872 | Headed first trial train over new 52.20-mile Reno-Virginia City route |
| Oct 1 1872 | Began hauling daily Reno-Virginia City four-car Kimball passenger train Reno-Virginia City; Charles McCormack, engineer and “Harry” Shrieves, conductor |
| Oct 17 1872 | Eastbound Reno and train successful plunge through burning American Flat tunnel; John Bartholomew, engineer |
| Oct 28 1872 | Bypass completed around tunnel; Reno and train let down to Carson City |
| Dec 17 1872 | Tunnel repaired; Reno and train resume Reno-Virginia City service |
| Feb 13 1873 | V&T Locomotive No. 12 Genoa arrives; used as back-up to Reno |
| Apr 1874 | Thomas Clarke succeeded Charles McCormack as Reno engineer |
| Oct-Nov 1874 | Westinghouse straight air brake system No. 2389 applied to Reno and four-car Kimball train |
| Mar 9 1875 | V&T Locomotive No. 22 Inyo arrives as back-up to Reno and Genoa |
| May 1 1876 | Inauguration of CP/V&T Lightning Express passenger train with sleeper as far as Carson City |
| Dec 1877 | Engineer Clarke’s fresh deer antlers added to Reno headlamp |
| early 1878 | Earliest known photograph of Reno taken by Carleton E. Watkins at Carson City diamond stack |
| Jun 1878 | Reno and passenger trains fitted with Miller couplers |
| Jan 31 1882 | Reno overturned in wreck near Washoe |
| Apr 23 1882 | Reno returned to Express with new taller cab; Tom Clarke, engineer |
| Jun 1888 | Engineer Tom Clarke scalded aboard Reno; laid off Jul 1889, died. |
| Jul 1889 | Morris Lonergan succeeded Clarke as Reno engineer on Express; d.1895 |
| 1890 | Published James H. Crockwell photos of Reno |
| Mar 1891 | Upgraded to 8-inch WAB air pump |
| 1898 | American driver brakes No. 17884 and automatic air brakes applied |
| Mar 1902 | Reno upgraded to Tower Janey-style knuckle couplers |
| Jul 1902 | Up-graded to wood-staved pilot |
| Nov 1903 – Feb 1905 | Completely rebuilt by V&T Carson City Shops; painted gloss black |
| 1904 | “Cooney” Pohl became Reno engineer on Express; laid off Mar 1918 |
| Jun 1907 | Reno is first V&T locomotive converted from wood to burn fuel oil; straight stack |
| May 1917 | Baldwin quote of $3,850 to reboiler No. 11 Boiler lap-seams reinforced with riveted back plates |
| Dec 1917 | 32-volt DC Pyle-National steam generator added for electric lights |
| Mar 1918 | James Savage succeeded Pohl as Reno engineer on Express; retired Feb 1937 |
| Jun 1924 | Express becomes mixed freight and passenger train, often pulled by 4-6-0s |
| Sep 1929 | Daily Express changed from Reno-Virginia City to Reno-Minden and return Reno used on Carson-Virginia City trains and for specials |
| 1934 | Reno no longer in regular service; used for specials |
| Sep 3 1937 | Reno and train rented to Universal Film Corporation for filming east of Carson |
| Jun 4 1938 | Reno hauled last loaded freight car out of Gold Hill |
| Jun 5 1938 | Reno handled California-Nevada Railroad Historical Society Excursion Carson City to Virginia City with 4-6-0 No. 27 |
| Jul 17 1938 | Reno pulled R&LHS Pacific Coast Chapter Excursion Carson-Virginia City |
| Jul 19 1938 | No. 11 pulled R&LHS Chicago Chapter Excursion to Virginia City |
| Jul 20 1938 | No. 11’s reported last trip to Virginia City |
| Sep 1938 – Mar 1939 | Rented for $150 per month to Paramount Pictures for use lettered as UPRR in Utah for Union Pacific (1939). Turned over in wreck scene, repaired by SP Los Angeles Shop |
| Apr-Jun 1939 | Additional repairs in SP Sparks Shops, re-tubed; $5,000 settlement by Paramount to V&T |
| Jul 22 1943 | Last operated on V&T |
| Mar 1 1945 | Sold by V&T for $5,000 to Loew’s Inc./Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Culver City, CA |
| Mar 2 1945 | Left V&T, pulled by 4-6-0 No. 26; interchanged to SP at Reno |
| 1947-1970 | Operated for 28 motion picture and TV productions |
| Dec 1960 | New tubes, 100 lbs. working boiler pressure |
| May 1969 | Static display as UPRR No. 119 at Promontory, UT, for Gold Spike Centennial |
| Jul 20 1970 | Sold at auction for $62,500 to lawyer who defaulted; follow-up negotiated sale for $40,000 with V&T Coach No. 19 to Robert Shelton, Old Tucson Company, Tucson, Arizona |
| 1970-2015 | Operated for 49 motion pictures, TV, and DVD productions |
| Nov 1978 | Reno still periodically operated under steam by Old Tucson for commercial filming projects |
| Fall 1988 | Static display in Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne, Switzerland Returned to Old Tucson; converted to operate on compressed air |
| Apr 24 1995 | All wood components burned in back lot fire at Old Tucson; cosmetically replaced |
| Sep 14 2020 | Old Tucson closed as film studio and tourist attraction |
| Aug 21 2021 | V&T Reno and three cars purchased by Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company, Virginia City, Nevada, for preservation |
| Aug 25 2021 | Locomotive arrived by truck, off-loaded onto original V&T main line in Virginia City |
Stephen E, Drew
March 1 st , 2022
