The V&T Virginia City Branch earned that unofficial title because of the long and circuitous route that was required to keep the grades manageable between the State Capitol and the mining town that the railroad was intended to serve. Although the straight-line distance between the two cities is just a hair under 12 miles, the railroad mileage was nearly twice that, at roughly 21 miles. In that stretch, there were apparently enough degrees of curvature to make 17 complete circles! Although the average grade was said to be just over 2%, there are stretches where it is twice that. It is hard to imagine how some of the small, wood-burning 2-6-0s and 4-4-0s used by the V&T in the late 19th century were able to handle this line with any kind of train, and perhaps the only good explanation is that rolling stock back then was of very flimsy construction, when compared to today's standards.