History of the Slim Princess begins
Towards the end of the 19th C, the fortunes in ore being made in Western mining camps, required transport. Mule freighters were hauling bullion by the tons, and railroad tycoons saw an opportunity for prosperity of their own.
Three men controlled the successful Virginia and Truckee RR linking Virginia City to Reno and its connection to the CPR. In 1880, these three: Darius Mills, Hume Yerington, and William Sharon, incorporated the Carson and Colorado RR Co. It was planned to connect the Carson River to the Colorado River. The track never reached the Colorado River. Its terminus became Keeler, California.
1880 Hawthorne on the C&C RR
Construction was slow to start for the Carson and Colorado Railroad. The first three miles of the eventual 328-mile track was six months in the making. At the ten-month mark, only 70 miles had been laid. Labor and materials, not terrain, were the problems. The Chinese were expert RR builders, but the going rate for their labor was $1.00/day for a 26-day work month, minus $15.00/month for provisions. Additional problems included availability of material. Rals were shipped from Europe, and sometimes delayed by half a year.
Slim Princess Snow bound
As is typical, boom towns sprung up along the RR route. But the only one of any size remaining today is Hawthorne, its location reached in the spring of 1881. Perhaps the most challenging terrain on the route was Montgomery Pass. At over 7,100 ft in elevation, it was higher than the Donner Pass crossing by the Central Pacific, boasted descent gradients of more than three percent on the California side, and required a 247 ft tunnel.
Owens Valley residents were excited about the anticipated rail service, and understandably disappointed to have the existing towns bypassed in favor of proximity to the mines of the E. Sierra. Construction was slow to start for the Carson and Colorado Railroad. The first three miles of the eventual 328-mile track was six months in the making. At the ten-month mark, only 70 miles had been laid. Labor and materials, not terrain, were the problems. The Chinese were expert RR builders, but the going rate for their labor was $1.00/day for a 26-day work month, minus $15.00/month for provisions. Additional problems included availability of material. Rals were shipped from Europe, and sometimes delayed by half a year. next train adventure.
1882 Slim Princess Exiting Tunnel On
Montgomery Pass
Keeler, seventy miles south of Bishop, was on the Carson and Colorado RR route because of the Cerro Gordo mine. At over 9,200 ft elevation, Cerro Gordo was such a rich producer of silver, that it was credited with the successful growth of Los Angeles. Although it was because of Cerro Gordo that the RR built track to Keeler, by the time those tracks were laid, Carson and Colorado RR profits had plummeted, and Keeler became the end of the line. By 1900, most mines along the route had passed their peak, and the Carson and Colorado RR was happy to sell its road to the Southern Pacific RR for $2,750,000. of all levels.
#9 with freight boxcars and 401 caboose
Southern Pacific might have lived to regret their purchase, but only two months later, a silver outcropping in what became Tonopah was discovered. Southern Pacific soon made good return on its investment, and once gold was discovered in what became Goldfield, returns were even better.
#9 with tanker and 401 caboose