Desert Steel

It was a narrow gauge spur line of the Desert & Central Railroad to be built between Garnet and Castle Mountain, primarily to permit rail transportation for the lead mines. But the proposed route lay over some of the roughest terrain in Nevada. Clint Buchanan was engaged as the new construction boss because the grade laying crew had virtually stopped working. That there would be opposition to his assuming the job became obvious while he was still traveling in a caboose on his way to the construction site. Three tough teamsters board the caboose with the intention of throwing Buchanan off the train and sending him packing. Overcoming this first obstacle, however, is nothing compared to the challenge of the job once Clint arrived. The land was tough, but not as tough as the men who were determined that the road should not be built at all. Combined with this was the fact that the construction crew was running short of steel, the most vital of all ingredients to assure success of the venture. There was Cob Ogard, the current grade gang foreman, physically imposing, a dirty fighter who refused to be dislodged from his position. It is Ogard who is responsible for the delay in work on the grade. Supporting Ogard is Bart Runnell, the construction supervisor, who informs Buchanan at the very beginning that he is in charge and that Clint is to do nothing without his prior approval.

Desert Steel has a basis in fact, L.P. Holmes wrote about his story. A narrow gauge railroad was actually built in Nevada from Battle Mountain to Austin along the Reese River Valley. All the Shoshone Indians in that part of Nevada took to the brush and didn t show up until weeks later. They thought the white man had gone loco for sure. And who could blame them?


Genre: Western