# Eureka and Palisade Railroad

The Eureka and Palisade Railroad was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad constructed in 1873-1875 between Palisade and Eureka, Nevada, a distance of approximately 85 miles (137 km). The railroad was constructed to connect Eureka, the center of a rich silver mining area, with the national railway network at Palisade.
Later corporate reorganizations brought on by financial difficulties saw the line operated as the "Eureka and Palisade Railway" and the "Eureka-Nevada Railway."
As early as 1871, shortly after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, and just a year after the original strike was made, people in Eureka could see the advantages of building a railroad to connect them with the Central Pacific Railroad transcontinental line. Ore had to be shipped to Salt Lake City for final refining, and getting it north to Palisade, Nevada (the nearest point on the Central Pacific) by wagon was very expensive - about 20 dollars per ton. And, to get mining supplies southbound, the rates were twice as high. Building a railroad would result in significantly lower freight rates.
The Eureka & Palisade Railroad was built in 1875 to carry silver-lead ore from Eureka, Nevada, to the Central Pacific Railroad (later Southern Pacific Railroad) trunk line that ran through Palisade. Nevertheless, despite the determined and colorful management style of John Sexton, the line succumbed to the effects of flood, fire, competing road traffic, and dwindling amounts of ore extracted in Eureka. The rails and rolling stock of the railroad were removed in 1938.
The Eureka, one of the railroad's only surviving steam locomotives, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Eureka-Nevada Railway's second locomotive number 12 is preserved at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. Another locomotive that has survived is #7, a 2-6-2 Prairie named Pufferbilly that was built in 1915 by the H.K. Porter Company. It is privately owned by Gary Norton and can be seen at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho where it runs daily during theme park operation.

## Steam Locomotives

| # | Builder | SN | Type | Built | Acq | Ret | Disposition | Notes |
| 1 | Mason Machine Works | 461 | 0-4-4T | 1872 | 1873 | 1875 | Sold to Nevada Central #2 in 1879. | First Mason Bogie locomotive, built for stock, sold to the American Fork Railroad #1 of Utah in 1873. Purchased from that road by the E&P. Renumbered on the NC to #3 in 1881. Sold in 1882 for use on the Utah & Northern. Gone by 1886. See link below. |
| 2 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 3638 | 2-6-0 | 8/1874 | 1874 | 1881 | Sold to Bodie & Benton #3 | Scrapped by the B&B when the road closed in 1918. |
| 3 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 3701 | 2-6-0 | 3/1875 | 1875 | 1918 | Scrapped | |
| 4 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 3763 | 4-4-0 | 7/1875 | 1875 | 1896 | Sold to Hobart Estate #5 | Sold to Warner Brothers in 1939. Currently privately owned in Las Vegas, Nevada. Preserved in operational condition. |
| 5 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 3826 | 4-4-0 | 1/1876 | 1876 | Off roster by 1913. | Scrapped? | Renumbered to 3 in 1912. |
| 5 | Brooks Locomotive Works | 530 | 2-6-0 | 1881 | 1912 | 1919 | Rebuilt | Renumbered 9 after rebuild. Originally Utah & Northern #31, renumbered to 88 in 1885. Sold between 1890 and 1892 to Sumpter Valley #5. Acquired from the SV in 1912. |
| 6 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 4375 | 2-6-0 | 7/1878 | 1878 | Unknown | Scrapped? | Retained by the Eureka-Nevada Railroad |
| 7 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 6662 | 4-4-0 | 2/1883 | 1883 | Unknown | Scrapped? | Retained by the Eureka-Nevada Railroad |
| 7 | H. K. Porter | 5720 | 2-6-2 | 8/1915 | 1915 | 1939 | Sold | Preserved. Currently operational at the Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho. |
| 8 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 28806 | 2-8-0 | 1906 | 1906 | 1912 | Sold to Sumpter Valley #14 | |
| 8 | H. K. Porter | 5637 | 2-4-4T | 3/1915 | 1915 | 1926 | Rebuilt to 2-6-0 | |
| 8 | H. K. Porter | Rebuild | 2-6-0 | 3/1915 | 1926 | 1927 | Burned in Engine House Fire, later scrapped. Previously engine #8. |
| 9 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 5285 | 4-4-0 | 1880 | 1907 | 1912 | Sold to Sumpter Valley Railway #10 | Built as Carson and Colorado Railway #1 "Candelaria". Purchased from that road by the E&P. |
| 9 | Brooks Locomotive Works | Rebuild | 2-6-0 | 1881 | 1919 | 1927 | Burned in Engine House Fire, later scrapped. Previously engine #5. |
| 10 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 11075 | 2-8-0 | 1890 | 1910 | 1912 | Sold to Sumpter Valley #15 | Built for the Alberta Coal & Railway Company #7. Derailed soon after arrival. Left in place until 1912. |
| 10 | H. K. Porter | 5893 | 2-6-4t | 1916 | 1916 | 1926 | Rebuilt to 2-6-0. | |
| 10 | H. K. Porter | Rebuild | 2-6-0 | 1916 | 1926 | 1927 | Burned in Engine House Fire | later scrapped. Previously engine #10. |
| 10 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 24271 | 2-8-0 | 5/1904 | 1927 | 1938 | Scrapped? | Originally Uintah #10 |
| 11 | H. K. Porter | 6515 | 2-8-0 | 6/1920 | 1920 | 1936 | Later Scrapped | |
| 12 | Vulcan Iron Works | 3322 | 2-8-0 | 3/1923 | 1923 | 1927 | Burned in Engine House Fire | Later Scrapped |
| 12 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 14771 | 2-8-0 | 3/1896 | 1937 | 1938 | Sold | Originally built as Florence & Cripple Creek #10. Became Cripple Creek & Colorado Springs #36 in 1915. Sold in 1917 to Uintah #12. Purchased from Uintah. Preserved. Currently on display at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. |
| 14 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | Unknown | 2-6-0 | 1882 | 1912 | | | Not known if ever delivered to the Railroad. |
| 15 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 4982 | 4-4-0 | 1/1880 | 1912 | Unknown | Unknown | Built as Utah & Western #3, to Utah & Nevada #3 in 1881. Became Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern #285 in 1889. Sold to Sumpter Valley #4 in 1892, renumbered 15 in 1906. Purchased from the SV. |
| 6 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 21848 | 0-4-4T | 3/1903 | 1920 | 1938 | Scrapped | Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon. |
| 7 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 21991 | 0-4-4T | 5/1903 | 1920 | 1927 | Unknown | Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon. |
| 8 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 22002 | 0-4-4T | 10/1903 | 1920 | 1927 | Burned in Engine House Fire | Purchased from the United States Army at Fort Stevens Oregon. Later Scrapped. |
https://utahrails.net/articles/mason-onward.php