The Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s steam locomotive #27 isn’t the prettiest of the historic railway’s old engines. Nor is it the oldest or the best-known. But it does have the distinction of being the last to make a run from Minden to Reno in 1950.
Over the years, the peripatetic #27—which didn’t ever get a cool name like some of the other V & T locomotives like the Genoa or the Inyo or the Dayton—was located in various places in Northern Nevada.
For a time, it was parked in Carson City, then later moved to Mound House. In the early 1970s, it was camped in Virginia City, at the former site of the V & T passenger depot. After a brief stay in Gold Hill, it went to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.
In 2018, it traded places with V & T locomotive 18, The Dayton, and was returned to Virginia City. Once there, it was placed inside the new Comstock History Center Museum, where it remains today.
The venerable old engine traces its creation to 1913, when it was built by the famed Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia for the V & T. It was the last of 20 Baldwin locomotives to serve on the line and one of 29 locomotives used by the V & T between 1869 and 1950.
During its years of service, #27 was updated and modified a few times. An electric lamp replaced the original acetylene gas headlight in 1917 and in 1940, its original wooden cab was replaced by a steel cab (taken from another locomotive).
In 1948, with the V & T in dire financial condition, it was retired from active railroad service, but operated for a one-day excursion in May 1949 and then pulled the last of the railroad’s revenue trains from Minden to Reno in May 1950.
The locomotive steamed for a final time in September of that year, when it appeared in a movie serial, “Roar of the Iron Horse,” which starred Jock Mahoney.
Following its final run in 1950, it was donated to the people of Nevada.
Today, #27 is the star attraction in the Comstock History Center. While it is no longer operational, the engine, which was cosmetically restored to its appearance in 1941, remains an impressive piece of early 20th century technology.
In addition to hosting #27, the center also offers a handful of artifacts, photos, and other memorabilia, and periodically hosts art shows and other exhibitions. The building is also home of the Comstock Historic District Commission.
Of particular interest to visitors is a large historic marker adjacent to the center that notes that uphill from that site and to the left, at the corner of Union and D streets (now the Bucket of Blood parking lot), was the location of the historic Boston Saloon, which primarily served the mining community’s small African American population.
According to the marker, between 1866 and 1875, free-born William A.G. Brown operated the Boston Saloon on that location. He served meals prepared with the best cuts of meat. Shortly after selling his saloon, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1875.
The Comstock History Center Museum is located on the corner of E and Union streets in Virginia City (two blocks downhill from C Street).
Admittance into the center is free, but donations are welcome. The center is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, go to the center’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057338033350.
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