Are the wooden structures along the Truckee River part of the rail line?
[No, these] are the water flumes (walled tunnels, with a floor, walls, and a roof, of wood) that used to take water from the Truckee to the electric plant just West of Verdi. A flood washed out the flume East of Floriston a few years back, now just a trickle of water goes thru them. The wooden strips you saw, consist of 2×6 strips of Douglas fir, placed 3 feet apart. The workers walked on those strips of wood to repair the flumes, following the winter damage. The flume begins just below Floristan, and runs to the Sierra Pacific power generating station just West of Verdi. Overflow continues to water some of the agricultural areas West of Reno. In the winter, icicles hang from the flume, and are quite spectacular. —G.J.
