Fernley man writes resource for railroad buffs

Larry Hersh first became interested in trains after he was run over by a semi-truck. When the mishap occurred at age 6, his grandfather, a Pennsylvania railroad conductor, gave him his first Lionel model train to help occupy him during his recuperation.

That gift prompted a lifelong hobby that has taken him on many treks across Nevada along abandoned or relocated rail lines. Hersh wrote a book to document the way the rail line was in 1868, when the first Central Pacific Railroad engine chugged across Nevada, and how it had changed by 1997.

His book, "The Central Pacific Railroad Across Nevada 1868 & 1997," is a hardback publication that is "A Photographic Comparative Publication"

Hersh acquired other small-scale models throughout his life and joined a train club in California. Currently, he is an active member of the Fernley Preservation Society, which maintains and adds historic pieces of railroad memorabilia to the Fernley/Lassen Railway Depot museum. He is also a member of the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

"In 1994 I went into a book store and read about the construction of the original railway and became interested in George Kraus's 'High Road to Promontory,'" Hersh said.

The book included original photos by the official photographer for the Central Pacific Railroad between 1864 and 1869, Alfred A. Hart. With Hersh already immersed in railroad facts and history, the photographs deepened his fascination.

Using photos obtained from Stanford University Special Collections and The Huntington Library, and with a grid map to guide him, Hersh tracked down the exact locations where the original photos were shot and duplicated the scenes Hart had exposed in the first years of the CPRR.

Vacations became a time for Hersh to follow the path of metal rails across the state. He hiked amid Nevada's native insects, snakes and wildlife as he scaled cliffs to find the exact spot and angle to replicate the picture some 130-plus years after Hart.

Finding railroad artifacts along the way is a bonus for Hersh, and he documents these in photos as well.

"I'm an avid collector of railroad memorabilia. When retirement comes around I'm thinking about traveling around and visiting railroad museums," Hersh said.

In the meantime, he is working on a DVD depicting the history of the rail grade between Reno and Wadsworth.

"The book is in its second printing and I'm getting ready to go into DVD production," Hersh said of his continuing interest.

For more information, visit Hersh's Web site at www.cpran.com or contact him at 775-575-3108.