The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNGRR) was located in Northern California's Nevada County and Placer County, where it connected with the Central Pacific Railroad. The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Company incorporated on April 4, 1874, and was headquartered in Grass Valley, California. After two years of construction, passenger and commercial rail services began in 1876 and continued until 1943. The 22.53 mi (36.26 km) line ran from Colfax, north through Grass Valley to Nevada City. At one time, the railroad was notable for having the highest railroad bridge in California, the Bear River Bridge, built in 1908.
Mixed passenger and freight train on the Bear River bridge in 1895
Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR #5, at Colfax, California. This engine still exists and is at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, California (Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley Collection).
Restored Nevada County Narrow Gauge #5 on display during a visit to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 2022.
Route in 1895 from Nevada City to Grass Valley
Colfax, California
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Colfax is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. The population was 1,963 at the 2010 census. The town is named in honor of U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax (1869–73), a bronze statue of whom stands at Railroad Street and Grass Valley Street.
A statue of the town's namesake U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax stands near the railroad station in historic downtown Colfax.
The historic Stevens Trail's trailhead is in Colfax
East portal of Tunnel 34, Colfax, on the historic Central Pacific Railroad.