V&T Survivor: Inyo. Of the six 4-4-0 American Locomotives that served the legendary Virginia & Truckee Railway, four survive, but only one is still operational. Built in 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the #22 "Inyo" is now the queen of the Nevada State Railroad Museum's collection. Still running on her original lap-seam boiler, the Inyo is steamed up on the July 4th weekend of each year and is run around the museum's loop track for the benefit of photographers and enthusiasts. Because of her age, Inyo is operated at reduced pressure....typically 75 PSI. That's enough to move her around nicely, with possibly one of the historic V&T coaches in tow. Although she burned oil for about half of her career at the V&T, she's back on a diet of cord wood these days, like God and Baldwin intended. In between her annual outings, Inyo has a place of honor inside the museum's main display building, where she is typically separated from her tender. A platform located behind her cab allows visitors to see and photograph the rather simple layout of her controls. Although there are a few appliances, such as injectors, that were added by the V&T during her working life, this cab is still a pretty good representation of the state of the art in locomotive design in the 1870s. Note the rear flue sheet, which is visible through the open door of the surprisingly clean firebox. The NSRM folks do a superb job of cleaning this gal up after each run.
