The Nevada Short Line Railway (Silver Belt Railroad) was a 12.6 mi (20.3 km), 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad that ran east from Oreana (also known as Nenzel) to the silver mining area of Rochester, Nevada.
The railway terminated near, but did not connect with, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in Oreana due to the Nevada Short Line being 3 ft (914 mm) gauge and the SP being a standard gauge mainline.
The railway intended to eventually transition to standard gauge, but this never happened.
The railroad started in 1913 as a sole proprietorship and was incorporated on April 24, 1914.
The line only operated for four years.
In June 1918, the line was damaged by flooding and the line was abandoned on December 31, 1920.
Terrain and Route
The railway operated from Oreana (Nenzel) which was located along the east bank of the Humboldt River at an elevation of 4,158 ft (1,267 m) above sea level.
The railroad continued east through the desert where it had to cross the western edge of the Humboldt Range near Limerick Canyon.
The railway had to climb to an altitude of 7,200 ft (2,200 m) at Rochester.
The steep terrain the necessitated the need for a switchback and a 6% grade.
Following the construction of the smelter, Oreana was relocated across the river to a more favorable location.
By February 1867, the town had boarding houses, saloons, a post office, hotel, dancing hall, general store, restaurant, meat market, blacksmith shop, livery stable, and population of up to 300.
At its peak in 1868, Oreana even had a horse racing track operated by the Oreana Jockey Club.
At that time, more bullion was shipped from Oreana each month ($45,000) than anywhere else in Nevada.
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