Virginia & Truckee Locomotive No. 21 – J.W. Bowker (on loan from the CSRM)

The V&T purchased the J.W. Bowker in 1875 from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Named for John William Bowker, revered V&T innovator and master mechanic, the locomotive would soon be renamed the Mexico after John William Bowker was discharged from the V&T. The locomotive is equipped with a powerful Knowles steam water pump atop its boiler for fire-fighting purposes. The J. W. Bowker served as the switch engine in the V&T yards at Virginia City until it was sold in 1896 to the Sierra Nevada Wood & Lumber Company near Truckee, California. The locomotive last operated in 1953, today the Bowker is the sole surviving example of a Baldwin 2-4-0 locomotive in the United States. The J. W. Bowker has been on exhibit since 1976 at the California State Railroad Museum and is currently on loan to the Nevada State Railroad Museum.