It would seem appropriate that a settlement serving the rich copper mines in the area would be named "Cobre" (the Spanish word for copper). This was the terminus of the Nevada Northern Railway and although it was light years from any valuable copper, railroading and freighting the copper kept Cobre afloat! Cobre was located at the former interchange point between the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Nevada Northern Railway and served one purpose only: to serve the copper mines and smelter near Ely, some 135 miles to the south.
Cobre's isolated location served as a perfect terminus for both railroads and junction house for points elsewhere. Cobre boomed in 1906 when the Western Pacific Railroad moved its headquarters from Winnemucca to Cobre. At this time the town supported a hotel, a post office (opened in 1906) and some eight mercantile stores. As Cobre grew it developed a reputation for violence. There were several murders during the next few years and by 1910 the town had a population of only sixty. Unfortunately, this would be the height of Cobre's life. While ore trains from Ely kept coming through here, passenger and freight traffic declined during the ensuing years as did Cobre's population who preferred the automobile over the train. By 1937 Cobre was labeled a ghost town even though twenty people still lived there and in 1948 the Southern Pacific Railroad abandoned Cobre as a shipping point. The town came to its official end on May 31, 1956 when the post office closed its doors. Only a set of tracks are left to the ghosts.
| Status: Ghost Town/Siding
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How to Get Here:
A ghost siding in northeastern Elko County, 39 miles northeast of Wells.
- The only structure left at Cobre is a cinder block engine house built during the last years of the Nevada Northern Railway. Aside from this, very little remains of the old siding, but what is there makes it an interesting site to see! Trains still roll through on occasion making this spot a great back drop if you time it right! Any drive to Cobre is going to be a long one! This is very remote country. You know what to do.
Fill up in either West Wendover or Wells and exit Interstate 80 at "Oasis," State Route 233, the Montello Highway. From Oasis, head north for 11 miles to a dirt road on your left. This dirt road will cross the railroad tracks in about 3 miles. Welcome to downtown Cobre. Although there is a bar-saloon-restaurant in Montello, there is no gas for 94 miles headed north until Snowville, Utah.