V&T fund-raiser set for Saturday

Comedy and champagne will be the fare at Reno's Atlantis Casino Resort Saturday evening during a special fund-raiser for the V&T Railroad project.

The entertainment includes a special performance by Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, who was once a Las Vegas singer. She'll be sharing the spotlight with local comedians Kat Simmons and Kenny Davis.

The silent auction includes a numbered painting by artist Steve Saylor and a print of the V&T shops by Vern Horton. Williams Furs in Reno donated a number of items and champagne glasses featuring the J.W. Bowker, a famous V&T locomotive, will be raffled during and after the performance.

"The doors open at 6 and the show starts at 7 (p.m.)," said Judie Fisher-Crowley, executive director of the Northern Nevada Railroad Foundation.

The foundation is dedicated to completion of 17 miles of track from Gold Hill to Carson City and money from this event will be used to move the Boulder Branch Bridge from Las Vegas to Carson City, a project expected to cost about $650,000.

Two of the three sections that now make up the steel plate and girder bridge will be relocated near Deer Run Road on Carson City's east side, near the Lyon County line. The bridge will rise between 20 and 25 feet over the highway.

Built in the 1960s, the bridge now crosses Interstate 15 south of Russel Road in Las Vegas and will be replaced when the freeway is widened.

Crowley said private donors could sponsor the bridge and because it has no historical significance, it could be named after the benefactors.

"I picture a steam engine crossing that bridge in Carson City," she said.

The dream may not be too far from reality.

Organizers are waiting for completion of an environmental impact statement from Nevada's Department of Transportation, which is expected next month. The plans are about complete and once rights of way are acquired, construction of the railway will start.

"After that, it will really get going," Crowley said. "We'll get a train."

IF YOU GO

What: Comedy and Champagne Night

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, 3800 S. Virginia St.

Tickets: $25 per person and seating is limited to 400. For information or to make reservations, call the Atlantis at 824-4467 or the Foundation at 885-6833.