Steamscape: The Overman Pit. Under a partly sunny sky, a short V&T Freight makes the lonely trek across the high fill spanning the Overman Pit Mine, just south of Gold Hill, NV. On this frosty winter morning, both the scenery and the air temperature take your breath away, figuratively and literally! It's the reason why I consider this to be one of the most photogenic steam railroads in the country.
Interestingly, the location seen here is one of the few places on the reconstructed V&T Virginia City Line that doesn't look at all like it did back in the heyday of the railroad. The massive open pit mine in the foreground was actually created in the years after the original railroad was removed in 1941. By the time the Nevada State Commission began working on the reconstruction in the early 2000s, this pit had grown to be 1,000 ft. long, 800 ft. wide and 300 ft. deep. Needless to say, the original grade was long gone. Figuring a way to circumnavigate the Overman Pit was the largest single obstacle to the reconstruction of this line as a tourist railroad. The massive fill that the train is traversing around the east side of the pit in this photo required a lot of engineering...and something like 300,000 cubic yards of fill to complete. It still requires regular maintenance, as things settle a bit over time. Although not very authentic, it certainly makes for an impressive scene for the riders....not to mention a rather spectacular photo location.
