The Glenbrook

The Glenbrook is a 2-6-0, Mogul type, narrow-gauge steam railway locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 for the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company's 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad.

The Glenbrook
Type and origin Reference:[1][2] Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Build date 1875 Total produced 2
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-6-0 Gauge 3 ft (914 mm) Loco weight 26 short tons (24 t; 23 long tons) Fuel type Wood Cylinders 2
Career Operators 1875: Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company 1899: Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company 1937: Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Number in class 2 Numbers 1. Glenbrook 2. Tahoe Current owner Nevada State Railroad Museum Disposition Operational at the Nevada State Railroad Museum The Glenbrook U.S. National Register of Historic Places Location 600 N. Carson St., Carson City, Nevada Coordinates 39°10′7″N 119°43′54″W Area 1 acre (0.40 ha) Built 1875 Architect Baldwin Locomotive Works Architectural style Steam Locomotive NRHP reference No. 81000702[3] Added to NRHP May 01, 1981

History

The Glenbrook and its sister, #2, The Tahoe were built to haul cordwood and lumber from Glenbrook, Nevada on the east shore of Lake Tahoe to Spooner Summit, at the crest of the Carson Range. At the summit, the logs and lumber were put in a flume which carried it to the south end of Carson City. There it was loaded onto flatcars of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad which carried it to Virginia City for use in construction of the town, as mine timbers, and as boiler fuel.[1]

The area was fairly well logged out by 1890 and the Bliss family, the owners sold The Tahoe to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNG). In 1899, they took up the two lines and moved all of the equipment and rails to Tahoe City, California, on the northwest shore of the lake. From there they built a new railroad about 22 miles (35 km) to the Southern Pacific Railroad station at Truckee, California, just east of Donner Pass. The new line, the Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation (LTR&T) carried freight and passengers and connected with the 169-foot (52 m) lake steamer SS Tahoe. The Bliss family sold the LTR&T to the Southern Pacific in 1926. The larger road immediately converted its new branch to standard gauge.[1]

The Bliss family had kept #1 out of the sale and stored it at Tahoe City until 1937 when they sold it to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge, which used it largely for parts for Tahoe. The NCNG shut down in 1942, but Hope Bliss convinced her family to buy the locomotive back from the NCNG and presented it to the Nevada State Museum and to the Nevada State Railroad Museum where it underwent major work.[1] It was announced that it would go back into service in May 2015[4] and was unveiled to the public on 23 May 2015.

The Glenbrook was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[3]

References

1. "Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Locomotive No. 1Glenbrook". The Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
2. "Engine No. 5". Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
4. Reno Gazette-Journal – After 88 years, 'The Glenbrook' locomotive lives