The Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company was a , narrow gauge railroad that ran from the Central Pacific Railway at Truckee, California to the waterfront at Lake Tahoe. The railroad's width was converted to in 1926. The railroad operated its own property from 1899 until October 16, 1925, at which time it was leased to the Southern Pacific Company, which bought the property outright in May, 1933.Moody's Transportation Manual, 1989, p. 329 SP abandoned the line in 1943.Hilton, George W. American Narrow Gauge Railroads, p. 325, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1990.
The Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company operated a narrow gauge railroad between Truckee and Lake Tahoe, California assembled from equipment formerly used on the Lake Tahoe Railroad of Glenbrook, Nevada (USA). A separate company known as the Lake Tahoe Railway () proposed to build a standard gauge line northeast from Placerville to Pino Grande and then Lake Tahoe but construction never commenced.Pennoyer, A. Sheldon. Locomotives in Our Lives: Railroad Experiences of Three Brothers for More Than Sixty Years, 1890-1951, pp. 166-9, Hastings House, New York, New York, 1954.
Timeline
December 19, 1898 – Railway Incorporated May 1, 1900 – Operations commence between Truckee and Lake Tahoe October 16, 1925 – Railway leased to Southern Pacific Railroad May 15, 1926 – Line converted to Standard Gauge by SP May 1933 – Railway sold to SP November 10, 1943 – Line abandoned by SP
Route The railroad followed the Truckee River approximately via the modern route of State Route 89. Truckee - Interchange with Southern Pacific Deer Creek Squaw Valley Tahoe Wharf Tahoe City Tahoe Wharf
Ward Creek Branch Ward Creek
Motive Power The LT RR had four used gauge Baldwin locomotives that operated on the line.
LT&T Ry No.Locomotive TypeBuilderBuilder No.Date BuiltAcquiredDisposition1Baldwin3712April 1875January 31, 1899 from Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company #1Restored in 2015, by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City3Baldwin4062April 1877January 31, 1899 from Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company #3Scrapped in 1926 in Sacramento5Baldwin4222December 1877October 15, 1906 from South Pacific Coast Railroad #5Scrapped in 1926 in Sacramento13Baldwin6157April 1882August 13, 1915 from South Pacific Coast Railroad #13Scrapped in November 1927 in Sacramento
See also List of defunct California railroads
References