Virginia City Nevada - Open up any Nevada history book and you might be remiss if it fails to mention the Comstock Lode, Virginia City, or mining.
 
When miners discovered both gold and silver in the Virginia City foothills around 1859, that boom of wealth wasn't going to do any good in a state that was empty land and still in Utah territory.
 
"Most resources weren't available around the mines," says Margo Memmott, Senior Archaeologist with Broadbent & Associates Inc.
 
"Imagine bringing a wagon up here. That would be very difficult especially during the 1800's."
 
Memmott is right.
 
Miners were using wagons to bring supplies into the mine claims across the Comstock.
 
Eventually, plans were developed to create a railroad system to make things easier.
 
This would help bring gold and silver ores to the mills along the Carson River and Washoe Valley.
 
Building the V&T Railroad
 
The Virginia & Truckee Railroad system was built around the 1860's.
 
It's path stretched from Gardnerville all the way through to the Union Pacific Railroad in Reno.
 
"It was basically the way people would communicate through telegraph, deliver supplies, and just ride to different places,' says Memmott.
 
Yet, the railway was built during a time when miners began leaving Nevada to head to California for the Gold Rush.
 
The economy of Virginia City stood still for a few years as Nevada entered statehood in 1864.
 
Train transportation was still useful during the first part of the 1890's.
 
People still hopped aboard to get to places and the telephone system was not used in most rural areas of the country.
 
Then, the Great Depression hit.
 
This stunted the trains use in providing regular commerce to northern Nevada.
 
Then in 1950, the V&T railway announced it was ending its commercial operations and took one last ride along its 50 mile stretch.
 
The Missing Pieces
 
Once the V&T halted operations, Virginia City began to make improvements to its roadways and water systems.
 
Archaeologists with Broadbent & Associates drafted this map that shows where the railroad system was when it was active.

Do the red lines indicate track locations? - Date? Cartographer?

Locals say these tunnels and tracks are covered by cemented streets, and no markers have been left to signify where certain events took place, or that the train even rode on through Virginia City.
 
The Train Today
 
Today, you can still ride the V&T Railroad.
 
It's now a 24 mile round trip from Carson City (Eastgate Depot) to Virginia City for leisure.
 
While the current joys of the V&T are celebrated by visitors, locals, and children alike, the remains of northern Nevada's once prominent railroad system will sit "six feet under" until somebody digs it up and leaves a historical trail for future generations to learn and enjoy.
 
Miles Buergin.