Location:
Approximately 23 miles west and south of Wendover, Nevada along active railroad tracks.
Type OF Site:
Old Railroad Stop. With foundations?
Map:
1:100,000-Scale Geological Survey Topographic Map of Wendover, Utah-Nevada
Directions:
Take exit 387/Shafter from I80 and go to the paved/dirt road on the south side of the freeway that runs east, parallel to the freeway. Go .6 miles along this road to a dirt road on the right. (You will pass by at least one dirt road on the right before reaching the correct road at .6 miles.) The Silver Zone site is 3.4 miles along dirt roads from here.
Turn onto to the dirt road and stay straight, (crossing at least 1 crossroad), for 2.1 miles. At this point a road branches off to the left. This left branch takes you to the Silver Zone site. If you stay straight, you will go to the Shafter site. (See Shafter.) For the Silver Zone site, take the left branch and follow the dirt road back along the tracks for 1.3 miles to the point where the road crosses an old spire from the main tracks. This is the Silver Zone site. If there are any old foundations, I havent seen them yet.
When leaving, you can backtrack or continue following the dirt road back towards the freeway. But, there are several branches and you will have to use your own judgment on the rout back.
Access:
There is a relatively flat easy dirt road all the way, but there may be bad ruts in places after bad weather. A 2WD vehicle should be OK in good weather. A vehicle pulling a trailer or camper should be OK.
Comments:
Use caution along the tracks since they are active.
How productive has this site been in the past?
Are there any old foundations in the area?
History:
(From ghosttowns.com)
Silver Zone was a work camp and later a siding for Western Pacific Railroad. Today only a few signs of the camp remain.
(From nvghosttowns.com)
The pass at Silver Zone was part of the Hastings Cutoff of the California Trail. The Donner Party passed through in 1846 on the way to their unfortunate destiny in the Sierras. Signs of the trail are still visible in the area. The name Silver Zone came about after Major Robert Goldman discovered silver in May, 1872. During the summer, a small boom camp formed and Moffitt and Gassett began running a stage and freight line from Toano. However, the boom went bust by the next summer and the camp was empty by fall. It wasn't until 1907 that Silver Zone revived. The construction of the Western Pacific Railroad led to a work camp being organized. When construction of the railroad was completed in the area, the camp was disbanded and Silver Zone became a siding and housed a section crew. Silver Zone Pass is the highest point on the Western Pacific between San Francisco and Salt Lake City at 5875'. While trains still rumble through Silver Zone Pass, there is little left except concrete ruins at the railroad siding. At the old mines, a few signs of the short-lived boom camp are left.
