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 In
1917, the Western Pacific purchased the right of
way between
Reno and Plumas Junction. The main shops were moved north to Alturas
which also now hosted the general offices. The modest depot in Alturas
was now joined by an impressive mission style structure for governing
the progress of the railroad. The Western Pacific was proving to be a
recalcitrant business partner and the N-C-O explored the possibility of
removing their connection between the WP and the Southern Pacific. This
was not contractually possible, however, so the smaller road continued
the arrangement pending further actions.
In 1921, the first application for abandonment was
filed. A
hearing was held in Alturas. Local people protested that the railroad
was too important in the local economy to be lost. While being denied
abandonment of the road, the I.C.C. did authorize the removal of the
tracks between Wendel and Hackstaff which was what the N-C-O had
attempted on its own earlier. The I.C.C. also increased the N-C-O's
share of the tariffs with the remaining connection with the Southern
Pacific. This action probably brought the attention of the larger road
to the possibilities available in the right of way of the narrow gauge.
The Southern Pacific had been looking for an shorter outlet to its
transcontinental crossing for its Oregon lines and the N-C-O right of
way presented a solution. In 1925, the Moran family, who had owned the
N-C-O for years negotiated a deal with the SP. The I.C.C. approved the
sale and the Morans were paid in stock of the Pacific Electric Railway,
the large interurban railroad serving the Los Angeles area.
Lakeview, Oregon
N-C-O Depot in 1960, being used for
Southern Pacific R.R.
Photographer, Ben Maxwell, Salem
(Oregon) Public Library Photograph Collections
The Southern Pacific took
over operation of the N-C-O in
October 1926. The SP began standard gauging the railroad in July 1927.
Lakeview was reached by the standard gauge by September 1928. A
connection between Alturas and Klamath Falls, Oregon was built and the
N-C-O ceased to exist as a separate entity in September 1929. Narrow
gauge equipment was distributed to the SP operation in the Owens
Valley, the Pacific Coast Railway in coastal California and the Nevada
County Narrow Gauge Railroad on the western slope of the Sierra. N-C-O
equipment has survived in locations throughout California and Nevada.
The depots still stand after all these years. A drive along the route
of the N-C-O today causes wonder that anyone would have built this
railroad. The mind of our railroad entrepeneurs of the past saw
opportunity in the smallest markets. They saw growth following the
railroads. If they built it, the business would appear because of the
new economies of transport. This shotgun approach to development
sometimes succeeded, but more often than not only left us another
interesting railroad to explore.
 Reno,
Nevada N-C-O Depot in August, 2007, surrounded by the modern commercial
Reno, but still surviving.
The
N-C-O must have hoped for a long life because they built particularly
attractive and permanent structures.
Narrow Gauge
on the Net Photo
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Bibliography
-Barry, Patricia A., The Journal of the Modoc County
Historical Society; A Layman's History of the N-C-O Railway.
Alturas: Modoc County Museum, 1982.
-Burrell, O. K. and David Myrick, Railroad Magazine; "Cow-Country
Narrow Gauge" , October 1955.
-Myrick, David, The Western Railroader; Nevada
California Oregon Railway. San Mateo: California-
Nevada Railroad Historical Society, 1955.
-Myrick, David, The Railroads of Nevada and Eastern
California, Vol 1. Berkeley: Howell-North, 1962.
-Sloan, Robert, Narrow Gauge Information and
Lettering Guide. Hopkins: Narrow Gauge
Stuff,[1975?].
 Only
narrow gauge locomotives are listed. After the Southern Pacific
purchase, four standard gauge locomotives were added to the N-C-O
roster. These were numbered 24-27. Locomotives listed as sent to the SP
worked on the Keeler Branch (the southern section of the former Carson
& Colorad Railroad).
Abbreviations are as follows:
F&CC - Florence & Cripple Creek (Colorado)
NCNG - Nevada County Narrow Gauge (California)
OR&L - Oahu Railway & Land Co. (Hawaii)
SP - Southern Pacific
Baldwin - Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Porter - Porter, Bell & Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Schen. - Schenectady Locomotive Works, Schenectady, New York
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