Steam & Excursion > One "Dam" Fine Locomotive Hard At Work On A Huge Project!

Some construction projects were so large in scale that they needed their own railroads to enable their completion. The building of Boulder Dam was just such a project.

So large was the scope of this project that it took 5 years to complete. From 1931 to 1936 Six Companies, as the primary contractor, worked to bring this project to a timely conclusion. To do this, it built it's own 25 mile long railroad to bring materials in for the dam construction. Six Companies was actually a consortium of 6 different contractors who banded together to tackle this huge job.

One of the engines purchased for this operation was Six Companies #6011 shown here at Boulder Dam in may 1934. This big Baldwin 2-8-0 had been built in 1905 for the Union Pacific. She was one of 9 such Consolidations that was used by Six Companies for the project. Also on the roster were 3 Mikes and 2 large 3-truck Shays and one 2-truck Shay.

While these years may have been the depth of the depression, they were certainly boom years for #6011 and her owner, Six Companies.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/17 03:43 by LoggerHogger.

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I never heard of this railroad until 1963 when David Myrick's "Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California - Vol. 2 was published. What a massive project. Thanks for the photo of the 6011.

I wonder how many furloughed LA&SL employees hired on there?

Myrick's books are classics!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Isn't (or wasn't) there a rail museum and/or tracks along the highway between Vegas and boulder?

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Yes, the Nevada State Museum is located just about where the branch enters Boulder City, what's
left of it. Hopefully the new bridge over 515/93/95 gets done shortly and the museum and the branch
will once more be connected to the outside world.

Out