CCCVB will hear that V&T may yet become a reality

Carson City Convention and Visitors' Bureau board members on Monday will hear what could be the most encouraging news yet regarding the reconstruction of the V&T Railroad.

Members of the Tri-County Railroad Commission will share details with the visitors' bureau on finding a way to bring the V&T over the massive Overman Pit just outside Virginia City.

The V& T linked Carson City and Virginia City by rail until it was dismantled in the early 1950. Officials in Carson City, Storey and Lyon Counties throughout the 1990s have sought ways to rebuild the V&T as a tourist attraction.

Carson City Mayor Ray Masayko and Storey County Commission Chairman Chuck Haynes will tell the visitors bureau that the Nevada Department of Transportation has finished designs to cross the Overman Pit.

"The whole holdup (for seven years) has been getting over the pit," Haynes said. "This is the door we've been waiting to open."

Masayko said he will assure the visitors bureau on the progress, prospect and strategy of rebuilding the V&T. The Carson City Convention and Visitors' Bureau and a quarter-cent sales tax in Storey County have been the only reliable annual funds over the years to study the V&T project and fund design and land acquisition.

"I think it's gaining momentum," Masayko said. "Once we define what it takes to cross the pit, we'll raise the money, even if we have to build it a mile at a time."

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What: Carson City Convention and Visitors' Bureau board meeting

Special topic: Update on reconstruction of V&T Railroad

When: 5:30 p.m. tonight

Where: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.