Blair Junction
& Silver Peak Railroad
In May 1906, the Pittsburg-Silver Peak Gold Mining Company was formed and began buying up properties near Silver Peak. The Silver Peak Railroad Company, a subsidiary, was formed shortly thereafter and by the end of June a 17½ mile line to the planned town of Blair was surveyed. It was to extend from the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad at newly-created Blair Junction, and grading was started in July by McLean & McSweeney, who had earlier built the T&G. The railroad was completed in October, with the first train arriving at Blair on the 16th of that month.
At Blair Junction, a well was sunk to provide water for the steam trains, and daily passenger service operated in both directions on the line. A depot was built, and though destroyed by fire in 1910 was rebuilt. Two Italian brothers for a time shipped firewood via the railroad, from the only other station on the line: Wood Yard, eight miles south of the Junction. As the Silver Peak Railroad's life was entirely dependent on operations at Blair, it was doomed when those ceased in 1915. In 1918, the railroad was formally abandoned and before the end of the year was completely dismantled.
Despite the loss of the Silver Peak Railroad, Blair Junction continued to function as a shipping point for a new commodity. Alum was mined by Western Chemicals, Inc. about seven miles away and trucked to the station beginning in 1919, and the addition of a new post office at Blair Junction to service the area added another boost. 1921 brought additional growth, with the Fish Lake Merger Oil Company placing a new oil storage tank (with much fanfare and a barbecue), the operation of an auto service station, and before the end of the year a general store and school. Though the post office was lost just two years later, Blair Junction was nevertheless an important shipping center for the region's mines until the T&G's eventual abandonment in 1947.
