Goldfield’s Railroads

Goldfield, the largest city in Nevada in 1907, developed a network of railroads to serve its growing population and booming mining economy. Three lines were established to accommodate the city’s growth: the Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad, the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, and the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad. The Las Vegas and Tonopah line was built from Las Vegas through Beatty and Rhyolite to Goldfield and operated from 1907 to February 1918; afterward, the Nevada Department of Highways bought its rights-of-way for Highway 95, and its rails were removed in 1919. The Bullfrog Goldfield line was built south from Goldfield to Beatty and Rhyolite beginning in May 1906, underwent five management changes, and closed in January 1928. The Tonopah and Tidewater was built north from Ludlow, California, to Gold Center and used Bullfrog and Goldfield tracks to reach Goldfield; construction began in 1905, it opened in October 1907, and it operated until June 14, 1940. Goldfield had five railroads in all, including the Goldfield Cons. Mining Co. RR, which ran from the mines to the construction mill on Columbia mountain. The Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad lasted the longest, surviving until October 1947. It was preceded by separate lines for each city, with the Tonopah line beginning in 1903 and the Goldfield line opening in 1904, and the two consolidated on November 1, 1905. Altogether, the line served about 100 miles of track and about a dozen shops. The railroad boom was driven by gold production, with more than $90 million mined between 1901 and 1940, and the Tonopah and Goldfield’s northern connection to Mina linked with the Nevada and California Railroad, an affiliate of the Southern Pacific, allowing passengers from the East or West coasts to travel by Pullman service and complete the last leg from Mina to Goldfield in about 5 hours. Declining ore production, the Great Depression, floods, devastating fires, and after 1945 the loss of Tonopah Army Air Field traffic brought the railroad boom in the region to an end.

Goldfield, Nevada · United States