Steamscape - Overman Pit. A Virginia & Truckee passenger extra crosses the fill at Overman Pit enroute to Gold Hill on a February morning. When a Nevada State Commission decided to pursue reconstruction of the Virginia & Truckee line from Carson City to Virginia City, the single biggest obstacle was the 120 foot deep hole in the ground that you see on the right side of this photo. The defunct strip mine known as "Overman Pit" was dug after the original V&T Virginia City Branch was dismantled in 1938. In order to reconstruct the line, a massive fill had to be created, bridging the two ends of this pit and facilitating the relaying of the rails. The first engineering study of the project began in 1992 and it wasn't until 2005 that the fill was finally completed and the track re-installed. Approximately 300,000 cubic yards of material were used to bridge the pit, and although the resulting earthen structure is very impressive to on-lookers and passengers alike, this location remains a concern for the state commission, as settling of the soil does occur and periodic maintenance is required.
