Historic V&T Railroad passenger car doubles as moving tasting room • Reno News & Review

All aboard and well done!

I know it’s not the traditional call made by a train conductor, but I hope to hear it someday soon on the Virginia and Truckee Railway’s wine train, called the Toast of the Canyon.

The V&T, as it is colloquially known, is one of the most famous short-line railroads in American history and a significant part of our history in this region. In 1868, when the V&T was formed to transport ore from Virginia City to the mills along the Carson River, Virginia City had a population of just under 7,000. Carson City had fewer than 3,000 residents, and Reno, which had just been founded that year, had fewer than 1,000.

By 1873, Virginia City’s population was booming, driven by the Comstock boom. The town had a population of about 25,000 and over 100 saloons. The V&T boomed similarly to Virginia City’s, with over 40 trains a day and 24 locomotives, bringing silver ore to Carson City and liquor to Virginia City saloons.

When the mines failed, the V&T began a slow decline, ending rail service from Virginia City to Carson City in 1938, when it filed for bankruptcy, and making its last run between Carson City and Reno in 1950.

In the 1970s, Virginia City railroad enthusiast Robert C. Gray wanted to rebuild the V&T as a tourist railroad. Work began and progressed slowly, but it wasn’t until the 1990s, when the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, a nonprofit organization, was formed to raise funds for the project, that significant progress was made.

Today, the V&T operates several train excursions, including a 24-mile round-trip from Carson City to Virginia City. These excursions are fully narrated and describe the scenery and sights along the route, which includes the 550-foot-long Tunnel No. 2 and a 3 1/2-hour stop in Virginia City. These trips are operated by one of two locomotives, either a diesel or a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive. Two special excursions are also offered: the Polar Express from mid-November to just before Christmas, and the Toast of the Canyon, the restored wine train.

The Toast of the Canyon tour is a 45-minute trip that departs from Carson City’s Eastgate Depot and travels through the Carson River Canyon on 2.5 miles of new track. Scenic highlights include the historic locations of some of the stamp mills that processed Virginia City’s ore, such as the Comstock Mill, Eureka Mill, Santiago Mill, Vivian Mill, Merrimac Mill, Brunswick Mill and Morgan Mill.

There will also be wine (Francis Coppola 2022 Diamond Collection Chardonnay, Coppola 2023 Diamond Collection Pinot Grigio and Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs) and hors d’oeuvres, as well as music and narration throughout.

“Passengers will have the opportunity to photograph the steam engine as it reconnects to the passenger car, and they will be able to hear the echoes of the steam whistle in the canyon,” said V&T Rail Commission Executive Assistant Cherrie Bailey.

This seems like an extraordinary adventure. I have often said that wine is liquid history. To be able to taste history while seeing, smelling and hearing it in the form of a steam locomotive seems like a perfect event.

The final wine train of this season is scheduled for Sept. 21, and sadly, all tickets are already sold out. Each train seats 140 people, and tickets went much faster than expected. Bailey said the V&T plans to schedule four wine train tours in 2025. To be among the first to know when dates are announced, follow Virginia & Truckee Railroad on Facebook or www.instagram.com/vtrailroad.

Related