The silver panic of 1893 cemented the fate of the "boom". Mark Requa, son of Isaac Requa, took over the management in 1897. He sought out business in transporting everyday goods for the entire region, rather than relying on only Eureka's fading mines. The railroad was moderately successful. But moderate success in a remote region does not satisfy faraway bondholders. In 1900, receivership followed default, but a group led by Mark Requa was able to wrest the control from competing interests. Requa became bondholder for the trustees. It was now the Eureka & Palisade Railway.

A breakdown idles the crew. The obscured smokebox front may belong to No. 5, the "Palisade", an 1875 Baldwin product. The second person from the left is Bill Hawkins, who would still be working for the railroad as a conductor at its end in 1938.
Used by permission Railfan & Railroad Magazine

Somewhat ironically, a little time later in 1905, the newly formed Richmond-Eureka was the source of yet another mining boom. The Richmond and Eureka Consolidated operations had been joined, being purchased by the U.S. Smelting & Refining Co. The mines resumed active development and began shipping large quantities of ore for smelting in Utah. Revenues increased, and ore hauling again assumed the majority of the railroad's business. Hauling for the Richmond-Eureka mine amounted to seventy-five per cent of the railroad's revenue. To the north, smaller operations were attempting to resume mining. At both Delmas and Mineral Hill mining of lower grade ore was being accomplished. The Eureka & Palisade was hauling ore from all along its line again.

The boom was short lived, however. The year 1910 brought months of rain and disasterous floods. Much railroad property was damaged. Locomotives were derailed or stranded, track was washed out, the destruction was general. Track that was not washed out was damaged by standing water eroding the roadbed. The shops at Palisade were flooded. The line was decimated. Requa estimated that it would take one hundred fifty thousand dollars to rebuild the railroad. Most expected the end had come.

This expectation was in error. Much like the cat with nine lives, there was to be more to this remote little line. The Richmond-Eureka Mining Co. forced forclosure on the railroad and tried to purchase it. George Whittell, a Lake Tahoe lumber magnate and majority bondholder, exercized an option to bid and purchased the road for eighty-six thousand dollars, outbidding the mining company. Thus was formed the Eureka Nevada Railway. Service was restarted in May 1912. The run from Palisade to Eureka had stretched to over seven hours under this new regime. But the railroad was running again.

A problem for the mining interests was the high rate charged by the Eureka Nevada Railway. The rate charged was $20 per ton for hauling the ore. Furthermore, as of late September 1916, the Utah smelters in Murray and Midvale had more ore than they could process and the Eureka mines were forced to shut down operations. They were ready for operation and could commence operations within 24 hours, if needed.

The limited capacity of the smelters, along with continuing disputes with the reorganized mining company over freight rates, left the mines closed for two years. This period was marked by lawsuits with seemingly a large percentage of the area's businesses. This was definitely a litigious bunch. They fought with the mines, the Southern Pacific, and for good measure, the Western Pacific. And they usually won. In 1917 the railroad, led by its feisty general manager, John E. Sexton, took on the Post Office Department. It seems that the Post Office was slow to pay for services rendered. Using leverage all out of proprtion to the reality of the situation, the railroad was able to get payments rolling in on time.

While Sexton could beat the Federal government, he failed with the locals. It seems that in 1918, John Sexton became alarmed at the recreation made available to his workers in Eureka. He threatened the Liquor Board with cessation of service to Eureka if liquor sales and houses of ill-repute were not eliminated. His bluster caused absolutely no reaction among local officials and it is presumed his workers continued to be led astray.

Builders' Photo of Eureka Nevada locomotive Number 12. Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. March 1923.

Small mining surges in the twenties helped the road stumble along. Through shrewd management, it was even returning a profit. This is not something other narrow gauge railroads could boast. This even continued into the Great Depression. However, maintenance was being deferred, track was deteriorating, and the small railroad was slowly dying. The mining was now almost all lead, not silver. Finally even the price of this metal became too low to economically extract. Highways were eating into the business.

Eureka Nevada No.10 waiting to leave Palisade depot, 1936. Linwood Moody Photo
Permission of Railfan & Railroad Magazine

During the last years of operation, the railroad was affectionately known as "The Dinkey." According to Charlene Slagowski, in Nevada Towns & Tales, the crews would often slow or stop the train for some impromptu duck or sagehen hunting. Each ranch also had individual mail pickup by means of homemade willow hoops. The mail would be fastened to this hoop with a clothes pin and the conductor would grasp the hoop, take the mail and toss the hoop back to the person proffering it. A small railroad that had left endearing memories to those inhabiting the sparsely populated territory it served was nearing the end of its usefullness.

Eureka Nevada locomotive Number 10 pulls a freight beside Pine Creek in 1936, two years before the demise of the former Eureka & Palisade Railroad. This was the second Number 10, bought from the Uintah Railroad in Colorado. Note the railfans beside the creek.Moody Railroad Photos

The last steam train was run from Palisade on Saturday July 2, 1938 with a crew consisting of the Hawkins clan, Conductor Bill, Engineer Ray, Fireman Ted and Brakeman Nat. Sunday they brought the train back from Eureka and parked the last of the steamers running in revenue for good. A gasoline powered railbus was used for service until the final day of operations. Gone were the days of the highly polished and well oiled steam locomotives. They sat quietly in the enginehouse, unused. The railroad was abandoned September 21, 1938.

Engine 10 was used in the dismantling operations later that year and the final rails were pulled in the summer of 1939. That was the quiet end to another narrow gauge railroad that had lasted long after anyone would have thought it either possible or profitable. The mountains and the desert reclaimed their own. Not many traces are left of this little railroad that made a real difference long ago.

Eureka & Palisade Resources