Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22

39°8′54.3″N 119°46′6.05″W / 39.148417°N 119.7683472°W / 39.148417; -119.7683472

Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22
Motor Car 22 after exterior restoration in 2009
Type and origin
Power typeGasoline (1910), Diesel (2010)
BuilderMcKeen Motor Car Company
Build date1909–1910
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARA1-2
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.42 in (1,067 mm)
Wheel diameter33 in (838 mm)
Wheelbase52 ft 7 in (16.03 m)
Length72 ft 9+34 in (22.19 m)
Width10 ft 2+34 in (3.12 m)
Height11 ft 9+316 in (3.59 m)
Loco weight68,000 lb (30,844 kg)
Fuel capacity120 US gal (450 L)
Transmission1910: Morse chain drive
2010: Hydraulic drive
Performance figures
Maximum speed32+12 mph (52.3 km/h)
Power output200 hp (150 kW)
Career
OperatorsVirginia and Truckee Railroad
DeliveredMay 9, 1910
First runJune 2, 1910
RetiredOctober 31, 1945
RestoredMay 9, 2010
Current ownerNevada State Railroad Museum
DispositionOperational
Official nameMcKeen Motor Car #70
DesignatedSeptember 6, 2005
Reference no.05000968[1]
DesignatedOctober 16, 2012

Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22, also called McKeen Motor Car 70, is a gasoline-powered railcar at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City in the U.S. state of Nevada. It was built for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in 1910 by the McKeen Motor Car Company. Motor Car 22 was operated by the Virginia and Truckee until 1945, when it was sold off and became a diner until 1955. It eventually became the office and storage space for a plumbing business before it was donated to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1995. After a thorough study,[2] the Museum undertook a restoration of the McKeen car in 1997. The restored motor car was unveiled in 2010, a century after it was originally delivered to the Virginia and Truckee. Motor Car 22 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. It is one of a few surviving McKeen railcars, and the only one that is operational.[3]

  1. ^ "Search Properties Listed in the National Register of Historic Places". National Register Database and Research. National Park Service. Search: "05000968". Retrieved April 24, 2021. Nevada SP McKeen Motor Car #70
  2. ^ Drew, Stephen E (1997). Virginia & Truckee Railway McKeen Motor Car No. 22: Restoration Feasibility Investigation (Report). Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum.
  3. ^ Drew 2010, p. 5.