Nevada County Narrow Gauge #5 has had quite the history.

Nevada County Narrow Guage #5 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in 1975 for the Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Company as engine #2, the Tahoe. The C&TL&F was a lumber company that provided lumber to the Comstock in Virginia City. Duane L. Bliss, a prominent businessman in Virginia City, realized the need to economically get lumber to the booming town. He formed a lumber company with Henry Yerington. Yerington had experience with railroads as the vice-president and general manager of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. The C&TL&F operations included lumber mills at Glenbrook, along the edge of Lake Tahoe. The C&TL&F railroad had two switchbacks that took the lumber to Spooner Summit. From there, log flumes moved the lumber down the mountain to Carson Valley, where it met the V&TRR.

Two Baldwin Mogul-type engines were purchased for the new railroad. These two sister engines were #1, the Glenbrook, and #2, the Tahoe. They operated together until 1899, when the Lumber Company was shut down.

The Tahoe was sold to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad and became their engine #5. An early morning fire at the Grass Valley depot on August 30, 1915, burned the running boards and cab off. It was rebuilt and operated until 1940, when it was sold to Universal Studios. #5 became a Hollywood train, debuting in 1942 in the opening scene of “The Spoilers.” The Tahoe continued being in moves until in 1985 it was returned to Nevada City. The Tahoe had been in over 100 movies. The NCNG began the restoration process in 2019. The new boiler came from its sister, the Glenbrook. The Nevada State Railroad Museum had a boiler made for the Glenbrook but it didn’t fit. This boiler was acquired by the NCNG and made to fit the Tahoe. On July 4th, 2022, the Tahoe was brought back to steam, debuting at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

D.L. Bliss started a tourist railroad, the Lake Tahoe Railway, on the north end of the lake. The Glenbrook continued operations on this railroad. The railroad took tourists from Truckee to Tahoe City. From there, they could board a steam ship and travel around Tahoe. The Bliss family sold the railroad to the Southern Pacific in 1926, retaining the Glenbrook. The Glenbrook was sold to the NCNG in 1937 for parts for the #5 Tahoe. During WWII, after the NCNG ceased operations, the Glenbrook was almost scrapped before Hope Bliss and the Bliss family repurchased the engine. The Bliss family donated it to the State of Nevada, where it sat next to the State Museum for 40 years. In 1981, restoration efforts began, and the Glenbrook returned to operation in 2015.

The Glenbrook and Tahoe were reunited for the Nevada State Railroad Museum’s Great Western Steam Up in 2022. Fast forward 3 years, and the Tahoe Twins were reunited again. This time, for the Nevada State Railroad Museum’s Star Spangled Steam Up, celebrating the 150th birthday of the two oldest operating narrow-gauge locomotives.

Works Cited

“Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Company Locomotive No. 1 – Glenbrook | Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City.” Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, 2 May 2025, http://www.carsonrailroadmuseum.org/exhibits/carson-tahoe-lumber-fluming-company-locomotive-no-1-glenbrook/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Drew, Stephen E. Lake Tahoe’s Railroads. Arcadia Publishing, 12 Sept. 2016.

“Engines – Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.” Ncngrrmuseum.org, 2017, ncngrrmuseum.org/engines/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.

Ferrell, Mallory Hope. Rails around Lake Tahoe. Signature Press, 2011.

Harpster, Jack. Lumber Baron of the Comstock Lode. American History Press, 2 Apr. 2015.

Huffman, Wendell. Wood for the Comstock: From Lake Tahoe to Virginia City. Vol. 015, Carson City, Nevada, V&TRRHS Publication, Apr. 2023.

STRAKA, THOMAS. “TIMBER for the COMSTOCK.” Forest History Today Magazine, no. Spring/Fall 2007 Issue, 2007, pp. 4–15, foresthistory.org/periodicals/springfall-2007/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2025.