Eureka Mill #1 "Eureka"
History
Built by H.K Porter in 1882 for the Nevada Mill Company for use on the Eureka Mill Railroad in Nevada.
Specifications
| Porter Class | General Style of page 26 of catalog |
| Whyte | 0-4-0T |
| UIC | B n |
| Gauge | 30 in (762 mm) |
| Driver Dia. | 23 in (584.2 mm) |
| Loco weight | ?? short tons (??.0 t) |
| Fuel Type | Wood |
| Boiler Pressure | 120 psi (0.83 MPa) |
| Cylinders | Two, outside |
| Cylinder Size | 6 in × 10 in (152.4 mm × 254 mm) |
Service
Eureka Mill Railroad
The "Eureka" replaced horse teams used to move ore from the chute along the Virginia & Truckee Railroad at the mouth of Santiago Canyon, to the mill along the Carson river. The company maintained a small engine house at the mill site for minor repair and maintanence. Heavy repairs required the locomotive be hauled to the V&T who performed the major work at their shop in Carson City. By the 1890s mining on the Comstock Lode began to decline and the mill was operating occasionally by 1900.
Butt Lake Construction
Around 1906 the locomotive was sold to a contractor building the Butt Lake dam near Chester, California. To reach the construction site the locomotive was hauled into a steep canyon. When the dam was completed, removing the locomotive was not cost effective and the company left it in place as the reservoir filled and forgotten. In the 1990s the reservoir was drained and the "Eureka" was rediscovered still sitting on track where it was left nearly 100 years prior. It was retrieved, cleaned up and placed on display at the city park in Chester, where it remains on display.
