The Eureka & Palisade Railroad was built in 1875 to carry silver-lead ore from Eureka, Nevada, to the Central Pacific Railroad (later Southern Pacific Railroad) trunk line that ran through Palisade. Nevertheless, despite the determined and colorful management style of John Sexton, the line succumbed to the effects of flood, fire, competing road traffic, and dwindling amounts of ore extracted in Eureka. The rails and rolling stock of the railroad were removed in 1938.
The Eureka, one of the railroad's only surviving steam locomotives, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Eureka-Nevada Railway's second locomotive number 12 is preserved at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. Another locomotive that has survived is #7, a 2-6-2 Prairie named Pufferbilly that was built in 1915 by the H.K. Porter Company. It is privately owned by Gary Norton and can be seen at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho where it runs daily during theme park operation.