Burning Rubber

After completing my mission at Eagleville, I headed homeward on NV 447, then back into California via Reno.

You’ll note that my return trip skirted the west side of the Black Rock Desert, where Burning Man begins this weekend. My entire run through Nevada was overrun with “Burners” in their anti-establishment Winnebagos, powered by thousands of gallons of anti-establishment Chevron gasoline.

One worthy sight along the way was this 1907 bridge over the Truckee River in Wadsworth, NV.

The bridge served the Fernley and Lassen Railway, which was a 112-mile short line. I’m told that two of the railroad’s depots (in Fernley, Nevada and Susanville, California) have been restored, so this might be the subject of my next road trip.

You should also check out this cute, heart-warming video that features the bridge:

After Wadsworth I stopped in Reno to have dinner with my son Ian, who happened to be in town on business.

I spent the night in Reno, and this morning, before leaving town, I made a significant, final discovery related to the N-C-O Railway:

Recall that I had been unable to find the NCO locomotive shop in Lakeview (northern terminus of the railway). This morning, however, I located the NCO’s 19th-century shops building in downtown Reno (the NCO’s southern terminus). The building is on the other side of the tracks from the Depot Brewery and it’s currently serving as the headquarters for Black Rabbit Mead Company. It’s notable that two of the NCO’s surviving Reno structures now make mead and beer.

You can get more information about this building and photographs here.

Finally, I need to share this art installation I saw in front of the Reno bus depot. It’s made from a real, retired bus, though it’s been gutted and narrowed. I’m told it also is illuminated from the inside at night, and the headlights and taillights illuminate.

So ends this latest adventure. Be on the lookout for a Fernley and Lassen trip one day soon!