Glory Days. In a scene reminiscent of the glory days of the V&T, Locomotives 29 and 18 charge out the east portal of the "Yellow Jacket Tunnel", pouring gorgeous plumes into the desert sky. They're only about mile outside Virginia City and in just seconds, most of the heavy-lifting will be done as the grade relaxes substantially less than 100 yards ahead.
Double-heading trains to Virginia City was common on the old V&T, especially in the early years, when the line's fleet consisted only of small Mogul locomotives. I especially like this shot because you can't tell that the road engine is neither numbered or lettered for the V&T. All you can see clearly is a handsome steamer with a profile very much like the last engines that served the V&T in the early 1900s, with a paint scheme to match. Although the sun was not out at the time, this has become one of my favorite pictures from the new V&T.
