VIRGINIA & TRUCKEE RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Primary Research Sources

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

 

Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company Records, 1872-1950. 17 cartons, 26 packages, and 8 vols. Acquired primarily by purchase from Grahame Hardy, 1948, 1952, & 1957. (P-G 231)

 

Carson & Colorado Railroad Company Records, 1881-1901. 1 carton and 3 packages. Acquired primarily by purchase from Grahame Hardy, 1948, 1952, 1953, & 1957. (P-G 232)

 

Yerington (Henry M.) Papers, 1864-1950. 46 letterpress vols. (20,000+ pages), 4 cartons, and 1 box. Acquired primarily by purchase from Grahame Hardy, 1952-1957, and John Howell Books, 1957. (P-G 230)

 

Graves (Roy D.) Pictorial Collections, ca 1850-ca 1968. 23,100 photographic prints in 96 vols. V&T images in Vols. Nos. 49, 72, 90-92, 94, & 96. Acquired by purchase and donation. (1905.17500-PIC)

 

Watkins, Carleton E. Heart Mining Collection, 1871-1876. 139 15 x 21-inch views, primarily of the Comstock. Acquired by gift from Phoebe Hearst Collection. (1905.17175-PIC)

 

Also other photographs, maps, and newspapers.

 

The Huntington Library

San Marino, CA 91108

 

Nevada Railroad Records, 1862-1955. 18 boxes, 15 vols., photographs, broadsides, stock certificates, bonds, maps, and miscellany in Manuscripts Department. Includes Virginia & Truckee, Carson & Colorado, Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Company, Lake Tahoe Railway & Transportation Company, and Eureka & Palisade railroads. Purchased primarily from Grahame Hardy.

 

Virginia & Truckee Employee Time Tables, 1870-1948. In Rare Book Department. 73 (66%) of 112 all- time ETTs issued. Purchased from Grahame Hardy.

 

Also other photographs, maps, and newspapers.

 

Nevada State Museum

Carson City, NV 89701

 

The V. & T. Room. Records, artifacts, paintings, framed photographs, etc. by gift of the V&T Ry., Grover C. Russell, Lucius Beebe & Charles Clegg, and others. Includes No. 26 spot plate, builder’s plates, and classification lamps, V&T shop whistle, station bell, General Office clock, Carson station platform light, a letterpress, paintings by Charles Rulison and A. Sheldon Pennoyer, framed V&T photos, timetables, and records. Most transferred to Nevada State Railroad Museum.

 

Virginia & Truckee Railway Records, 1868-1950. By gift of V&T Railway. 50 vols. and 5 boxes loaned to UNR, microfilmed and since returned to NSM; most now at NSRM.

 

Also strong holdings of V&T photographs.

 

Special Collections Department

Matthewson-IGT Knowledge Center

University of Nevada, Reno

 

Virginia & Truckee Railroad Collection, 1860-1960. 1,162 vols., 209 boxes, 251 drawings, and maps, formerly in 62 packing crates, by gift of the V&T Ry. and the Mills Estate, 1952, with additions by Gordon A. Sampson through 1993 (NC446). Processed 1978 by Richard C. Datin, Jr. The largest surviving V&T collection of records. (NC427) Also includes 50 vols. of field survey notebooks taken during the ICC Valuation Survey, 1915-1922, on indefinite loan from the Nevada State Highway Department. Duplicate and ephemeral materials to NSRM 1979.

 

Carson & Colorado Railroad Collection, 1880-1916. 16 cubic feet. By gift of the V&T Ry., 1952. (NC71) H. M. Yerington Collection, 1829-1919. 3 boxes. By gift of the V&T Ry., 1952. (NC115) Microfilm of ex-NSM V&T records now held by NSRM, 19 rolls.

 

Largest collection of V&T Train Registers, 1875-1950. Also records of many V&T-affiliated mines, mills, lumber operations, and railroads throughout Nevada and Eastern California by gift of the V&T Ry., photographs, maps, and newspapers.

 

California State Railroad Museum Library

Sacramento, CA 95814

 

Virginia & Truckee Railroad Collection, 1868-1950. 30+ cubic feet. Extensive donations by the Grahame H. Hardy Family, 1970s-1980s, and by Stephen E. Drew, 1990-2008.

 

Virginia & Truckee Employee Time Tables, 1870-1947. 66 (60%) of 112 all-time ETTS, primarily by gift of Dr. Sydney H. Green (ex-Grahame H. Hardy)

 

V&T records and papers are also included in the CSRM collections of Gilbert H. Kneiss, Jack R. Wagner, Gerald M. Best, Louis L. Stein, Jr., Frederic J. Shaw, Frederick J. Monteagle, Paul B. Darrell, Lucius M. Beebe, Stanley F. Merritt, William A. Oden, Short Line Enterprises, Stephen E. Drew, and Central Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Carson & Colorado railroad collections.

 

Drawings of selected V&T equipment manufactured by Union Iron Works, Baldwin Locomotive Works, and Risdon Iron & Locomotive Works.

 

Microfilm and/or photocopies of records held at Stanford University, the DeGolyer Library at SMU, and elsewhere.

 

Also CSRM restoration reports, drawings, photographs, maps, and artifacts.

 

Nevada Historical Society

Reno, NV 89503

 

Virginia & Truckee Records, 1874-1949. 10 cubic feet.

 

Also records of the Carson & Colorado and Southern Pacific railroads.

 

Also strong holdings of V&T photographs, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, and artifacts.

 

Nevada State Railroad Museum

Carson City, NV 89701-5552

 

Virginia & Truckee Railroad Collection, 1868-1951. 121 vols., 5 boxes, and 3 packages. Gift of V&T Ry., 1952. Previously on loan by NSM to UNR. Includes minute, dividend, and stock books, correspondence, records, transcripts of hearings, drawings, equipment, and right-of-way issues. Microfilm copies held at UNR.

 

Virginia & Truckee Records, Virginia City, 1879-1937. 15 boxes, and 135 vols. Primarily accounting records, way bills, cash books, and letterpress records from Virginia City. Gift November 1979 by William A. Richardson of Boulder City, NV.

 

Virginia & Truckee Papers, 1872-1950. 80 boxes, and 16 metal containers. Filled-in forms for day-to-day operations including canceled checks, bank statements, auditor’s receipts, shop time cards, conductor’s cash receipts, way bills, etc. Transferred 1979 from UNR.

 

Also equipment restoration reports, photographs, and artifacts.

 

Other Useful Holdings:

National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

 

Nevada State Highway Department, Carson City, NV

 

California State Library, California Section, Sacramento, CA

 

Nevada State Library and Archives, Carson City, NV

 

Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco, CA

 

Comstock History Center, Virginia City, NV

 

 

Compiled by Stephen E. Drew, 10/2010

 

 

 

 

Bancroft Library

University of California

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

(510) 642-6481 Reference Desk

Open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Call first)

bancroft.berkeley.edu or oac.cdlib.org

The Huntington Library

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108

(626) 405-2203

Open Monday-Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. “for qualified scholars”

Application form, two letters of reference “from scholars in good standing,” three weeks in advance

www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=554 or www.oac.cdlib.org

Nevada State Museum

600 North Carson Street

Carson City, NV 89701

(775) 687-4810

Open Wednesday-Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Call first)

http://museums.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=486&Itemid=439

 

Special Collections Department

Matthewson-IGT Knowledge Center

University of Nevada, Reno

1664 North Virginia Street

Reno, NV 89557

(775) 682-5665

Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Call first)

https://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/materials/specoll/mss/

California State Railroad Museum Library

111 “I” Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 323-8073 (Call first)

Library open Tuesday-Saturday 1 to 5 p.m.

www.csrmf.org

Nevada Historical Society

1650 South Virginia Street

Reno, NV 89503

(775) 688-1190 (Call first)

Library open Wednesday-Saturday Noon to 4 p.m.

http://museums.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=446&Itemid=401

Nevada State Railroad Museum

2180 South Carson Street

Carson City, NV 89701-5552

(775) 687-6953

Open Friday-Monday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Call first)

http://museums.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=412&Itemid=123