All aboard—and cheers!
I know that isn’t the traditional call made by a train conductor, but I hope to hear it one day soon on the Virginia and Truckee Railway’s wine train, called the Toast of the Canyon.
The V&T, as it called colloquially, is one of the most famous short-line railroads in American history, and an important part of our history in this area. Back in 1868, when the V&T was incorporated to transport the ore from Virginia City to the mills along the Carson River, Virginia City’s population was just under 7,000 people. Carson City had fewer than 3,000 people, and Reno, having just been founded that year, had fewer than 1,000.
In 1873, Virginia City’s population was booming along with the Comstock bonanza. The population of Virginia City at that time was around 25,000, with more than 100 saloons. The V&T boomed along with Virginia City, running more than 40 trains a day with 24 locomotives, bringing silver ore to Carson City and alcohol back to the saloons in Virginia City.
When the mines went bust, the V&T started 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, a Virginia City railroad enthusiast Robert C. Gray wanted to rebuild the V&T as a tourist railroad. Work began, and slow progress was made, but it wasn’t until the 1990s, when the nonprofit Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway was created to raise money for the project, that significant progress was made.
Now the V&T runs several train excursions, including 24-mile-long roundtrips from Carson City to Virginia City. These excursions are fully narrated and describe the scenery and sights along the way, which includes the 566-foot-long Tunnel No. 2 and a 3 1/2-hour stopover in Virginia City. These trips are made with one of two engines, either a diesel engine, or a 1916 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive. There are also two special excursions offered: the Polar Express from mid-November to just before Christmas, and the Toast of the Canyon, the restarted wine train.
The Toast of the Canyon excursion is a 45-minute trip that leaves Carson City’s Eastgate Depot and travels through the Carson River Canyon over 2 1/2 miles of new track. Scenic highlights include the historic locations of some of the stamp mills that processed the ore from Virginia City, like 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 the Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs—and hors d’oeuvres, along with music and narration along the way.
“The passengers will have an opportunity to photograph the steam engine as it reconnects to the passenger car, and they will be able to hear the steam whistle echoes in the canyon,” said the V&T Railway Commission’s executive assistant, Cherrie Bailey.
This sounds like an amazing adventure. I have said often that wine is liquid history. Being able to taste history while seeing, smelling and hearing history in the form of a steam locomotive sounds like a perfect event.
The remaining wine train for this season is scheduled for Sept. 21—and, alas, tickets have sold out already. Each train can hold 140 people, and tickets went much faster than anticipated. Bailey said that the V&T plans to schedule four wine-train excursions in 2025. To be among the first to know when the dates are announced, follow Virginia & Truckee Railroad on Facebook or www.instagram.com/vtrailroad.