The Virginia & Truckee Railroad initially started as an idea to find a method of transporting ore from the mines of Virginia City down to the Carson River mills for processing. Ground first broke on February 18, 1869 south of Gold Hill, with crews spending months to grade the line and the first spike was driven September 28, 1869. By January 29, 1970 the first train from Carson City rolled into Virginia City, completing the first 21 mile leg of the line. In July 1870 grading for the 31 mile extension from Carson City to Reno and connecting to the Transcontinental Railroad had begun. On August 24, 1872, the final rail spike was driven and the railroad was complete with a total cost of $1,750,000, not including rolling stock.

William Ralston, Darius O. Mills and William Sharon are the primary controllers over the company however the true manager behind keeping the railroad efficient and successful is none other than the venerable General Superintendent Henry M. Yerington. With the completion of the railroad, the cost of transporting lumber and passengers up Mount Davidson was reduced significantly and the flow of ore and handsome profits exceeding $100,000 a month flowed down to the investors. Our freight is the primary use of the railroad, with up to 22 locomotives and 361 freight cars on the rails in a day. With the ease of transferring material up and down from the mines, the railroad could haul even more increasing profits further. The growing mining activity has increased the rail traffic and business on the railroad has only gone up. By December 1875 there were 50 trains a day on our tracks for several days, showing just how steadily business is growing on the Comstock, even in the dead of winter.