The Elko Subdivision is a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

owned and operated by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

running from

Weso WESO (970 AM; "Emmanuel Radio") is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic radio format, simulcasting sister station WNEB in Worcester. Established in 1955, the station is licensed to serve Southbridge, Massachusetts, United States. WESO is owned ...

(switching point just east of Winnemucca) to the freight yard in Elko. It is part of both the Overland Route and the Central Corridor. The line generally follows the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in th ...

and has several small tunnels while traversing the Palisade and Carlin Canyons, the longest tunnel is called the Carlin Tunnel.

Description

The Elko subdivision is unique in that the entire subdivision is operated as a dual track main, but each of the two tracks in the main were formerly competing lines, built by different companies and at different times, that were combined with

directional running A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

. The westbound track was part of the

first transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

built in the 1860s by the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incorpo ...

, while the eastbound track was built by the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dir ...

as part of the

Feather River Route The Feather River Route is a rail line that was built and operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. It was constructed between 1906 and 1909, and connects the cities of Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The line was built to compe ...

, between 1906 and 1909. The two tracks generally follow each other, however, the routes are not identical. This results in several oddities in the Elko Subdivision. For example, the community of Battle Mountain is only accessible by westbound trains, as the Western Pacific built track used for eastbound trains is routed several miles to the north of Battle Mountain. The

North Valmy Generating Station North Valmy Generating Station is a coal-fired power station located near Valmy, Nevada. The plant is jointly owned by NV Energy and Idaho Power. Coal is delivered to the location by the Union Pacific Railroad and originates in Utah and Wyomi ...

resides between the two tracks, and the feeders from each track can be used as a crossover for trains to turn around. Also unique, the two tracks have a

grade separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other t ...

crossover near Palisade. As a result, trains in the eastern half of the Elko Subdivision observe

right hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred t ...

, while trains in the western half observe

left hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...

. This shared track arrangement continues east of the Elko freight yards, where the line becomes the

Shafter Subdivision The Shafter Subdivision is a rail line owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in the U.S. states of Nevada and Utah. The line begins as a continuation of the Elko Subdivision at the Elko freight yards, and travels east to the junctio ...

until

Alazon, Nevada Alazon is an extinct town in Elko County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. History Alazon was a non-agency station at the east end of the combined Southern Pacific Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad tracks. In the early 1900s, Alazon consisted of ...

(near

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...

). At Alazon, the two lines separate, with the Central Corridor proceeding to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, while the Overland Route proceeds to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

History

The

1939 City of San Francisco derailment On August 12, 1939, the ''City of San Francisco'' train derailed outside of Harney, Nevada, United States, killing 24 and injuring 121 passengers and crew. The derailment was caused by sabotage of the tracks. Despite a manhunt, reward offers, a ...

occurred along today's Elko Subdivision, near a rail siding called Harney, between Beowawe and Palisade. In the 1980s both tracks were relocated out of downtown Elko along the banks of the

, resulting in Elko having two historical train depots downtown, with neither connected to track today. The

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...

depot (for westbound passengers) was at 683 Railroad street, while the Western Pacific (eastbound) depot was at the corner of 3rd and Silver streets.

References

{{Reflist Railway lines Rail transportation in Nevada Railway lines in the United States