The Nevada State Railroad Museum recently completed the restoration of Virginia & Truckee Transfer Car 1. 

The specialized flatcar was built in 1891 to transport narrow gauge locomotives between the V&T’s Carson City shop and the Carson & Colorado Railroad in Mound House, Nev. The V&T owned the C&C until 1900, when it was sold to the Southern Pacific. The car was later converted into a regular flatcar but was rarely used. In 1938, it was sold to Paramount Studios for $50 and used in films such as “Union Pacific” and “The Harvey Girls.”  In 1971, the car was sold to Short Line Enterprises and stored in Jamestown, Calif., before being donated to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1988.

Following the recent restoration of the V&T 1, the NSRM staff placed Dayton, Sutro & Carson Valley locomotive Joe Douglass atop the car. The 0-4-2T Porter locomotive was used to haul tailings from the Carson Valley Mill to the Douglass Mill in Dayton, Nev. Like the C&C locomotives, the Joe Douglass was maintained at the V&T shop in Carson City, meaning it was likely moved by car 1 at some point in the past.

—Justin Franz