Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company Records

Collection

Identifier: NC1244

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company Records covers the period from 1933-1947 and is arranged into two series. Series 1 contains monthly reports, daily reports and a company report. The undated company report contains extensive information about the value of the company from around 1940. Series 2 contains account information in the form of paid freight bills and waybills. All of the volumes are in their original bindings.

Dates

1933-1947

Creator

Nevada Copper Belt Railroad Company (Creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Administrative History

The Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company was incorporated in 1941 and operated from 1942 until it was abandoned in 1947. Its predecessor, the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad Company, was incorporated in 1909 in Maine. The rail line was completed in 1911 and operations began in the same year. The railroad was mainly used to haul freight from Ludwig, Nevada, where the headquarters of the Nevada-Douglas Consolidated Copper Company was located, to the smelter at Thompson which was on the main line of the track. It was also used by other companies in the area to haul ore including The Standard Gypsum Plaster Company which had a plant and two mining operations nearby. The track itself was forty miles in length.

The company was reorganized in 1941 from the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad Company to the Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company, but the company did not last much longer. In 1942, the 9 miles of track from Hudson to Ludwig as well as the 2 1/2 miles from Wabuska to Thompson were removed. The passenger service was terminated in 1945, and the entire line was abandoned in 1947. The abandonment was caused by a shortage of copper and gypsum.

The following sources were used in writing this overview: Robertson, D. B. Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History: The Desert States. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1986; Wagner, J. R. Short Line Junction: A Collection of California-Nevada Railroads. Fresno, California: Valley Publishers, 1971.

Extent

6 Linear Feet (6 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company was incorporated in 1941 and operated from 1942 until 1947. Its predecessor, the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad Company began in 1911 when its line was completed. The line was used mainly to haul freight and ore from companies along the 40 mile track from Ludwig to Thompson in Lyon County, Nevada. In 1941, the company was reorganized and named the Nevada Copper Belt Railway Company, but the entire line was abandoned in 1947 due to a shortage of copper and gypsum. The collection is contained in 20 volumes, with 15 volumes having monthly or daily reports (1933-1947); the remainder are freight and waybills (1944-1947).

Arrangement

Arranged into the following series: 1) Reports; 2) Accounts

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased by the Special Collections Department in 1977.

Related Materials

Researchers interested in additional records relating to the Nevada Copper Belt Railroad can inquire at the Nevada Historical Society in Reno, Nevada.