Virginia and Truckee 22 Inyo

{{Short description|Steam locomotive}}

{{Redirect|Virginia and Truckee 22|the railcar of the same number|Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Virginia and Truckee 22 Inyo}}

{{Infobox locomotive

| name = Inyo

| powertype = Steam

| gauge = {{track gauge|ussg}}

| image = VT-22-Inyo-Carson-City-Railroad-Museum.jpg

| caption = The Inyo at the Carson City NSRM branch in 2018

| whytetype = 4-4-0

| currentowner = Nevada State Railroad Museum

| driverdiameter = {{convert|57|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

| locoweight = {{convert|68|ST|1|abbr=on}}

| fueltype = Wood

| boilerpressure = {{convert|75|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on}}

| cylindercount = Two, outside

| cylindersize = {{convert|16|x|24|in|mm|abbr=on}}

| tractiveeffort = {{convert|6870|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on}}

| builddate = February 1875

| buildmodel = 8-26 C

| builder = Baldwin Locomotive Works

| officialname = Inyo

| serialnumber = 3693

| operator = Virginia and Truckee Railroad

| fleetnumbers = 22

| firstrundate =

| retiredate = September 9, 1926

| restoredate = May 29, 1983

| disposition = Operational

{{Designation list

| embed = yes

| designation1 = NRHP

| designation1_offname = Virginia and Truckee RR. Engines No. 18, The Dayton; and No. 22, The Inyo

| designation1_date = December 18, 1973

| designation1_number = 73002245{{Cite web |title=NPS Focus |url=http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=November 7, 2012}}

}}

}}

Virginia and Truckee Railroad No. 22, also known as the "Inyo", is a 4-4-0 "American" type steam locomotive that was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875 and pulled both passenger and freight trains. The Inyo weighs {{convert|68000|lb|abbr=on}}.{{cite book|author=Lucius Beebe, Charles Clegg|title=Virginia & Truckee: A Story of Virginia City and Comstock Times|publisher=Howell North|edition=5th|year=1963|page=68|id=LoC Catalog Card 63-14279}} Its {{convert|57|in|cm|abbr=on}} driving wheels deliver {{convert|11920|lb|abbr=on}} of tractive force. In 1877 it was fitted with air brakes and in 1910 it was converted to burn oil rather than wood.

Inyo was retired on September 9, 1926.{{cite book|author=Koenig, Karl R.|title=Virginia & Truckee Locomotives|publisher=Chatham Publishing Company|year=1980|page=65|isbn=0-89685-102-8}} It was kept in generally working order, to provide a source of spare parts for another V&T locomotive, the Reno.

It was sold to Paramount Pictures in March 1937 for $1,250 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1250|1937|fmt=c}} in {{inflation year|US}}). Though not rebuilt by the studio as was the Dayton (another V&T locomotive also purchased by the studio at the time), the engine was repainted and renumbered for use in motion pictures.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=73002245}} |title=Virginia and Truckee RR engines no. 18, the "Dayton"; and No. 22, the "Inyo"|author=Earl, Phillip I.|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form|publisher=National Park Service|year=1973|access-date=2009-04-27}}

In 1969 the locomotive participated in ceremonies for the centennial of the Golden Spike. Inyo was decorated to look like the Central Pacific's Jupiter. It remained at the Golden Spike National Historic Site throughout most of the 1970s. In 1974 the locomotive was sold to the State of Nevada, but it remained in Utah while a brand-new replica locomotive was built to replace it.{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/gosp/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217125236/http://www.nps.gov/gosp/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202-2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2008 |title=Everlasting Steam: The Story of Jupiter and No. 119|website=www.nps.gov |access-date=2019-07-31}} Inyo finally arrived at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City in late 1978.

An assessment of the locomotive showed that the Inyo was in good shape, and it was chosen for a full restoration to steam operation. Inyo was completed the next year, debuting on May 29, 1983.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nsrm-friends.org/inyo22.html|title=V&T #22 "INYO"|website=www.nsrm-friends.org}}

The Inyo remains in Carson City, where it steams up and runs around the museum's track on selected dates, most notably July 4 every year.{{Cite web |url=http://nevadaculture.org/dca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1386&Itemid=332 |title = Inyo Makes Only Appearance this Year at July 4th Celebration |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110810040948/http://nevadaculture.org/dca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1386&Itemid=332 |archive-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=dead}} It was brought to Las Vegas for the month of April 1984 to mark the grand opening of the railroad-themed Palace Station casino.{{cite news|title=New casino to hold grand opening|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 25, 1984|id={{ProQuest|153755851}}}} {{subscription required|via=ProQuest}}