The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Museum activities include restoration and operation of historic railroad equipment, steam-powered excursions throughout the year, winter photo shoots, locomotive rentals, hand car races, lectures, an annual railroad history symposium, changing exhibits, a resident reality camp, and a variety of special events.
Location
The museum is situated at the East Ely Yards, which are part of the Nevada Northern Railway. The site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places as the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops and is also known as the "Nevada Northern Railway Complex". The rail yards were listed as a National Historic Landmark of the United States on September 27, 2006.
"The Nevada Northern Railway Complex is the best-preserved, least altered, and most complete main yard complex remaining from the steam railroad era. It was established in 1905 to support the area's booming copper mining industry. The era of dieselization of the railroad industry during the second half of the 20th century led to alterations and demolitions of railroad yards and shops nationwide. The East Ely yard escaped modernization because of its geographical remoteness and the decline of the mining industry it once served."
Collection
The museum collection includes three steam locomotives, an electric locomotive, and several diesel-electric locomotives, as well as a collection of maintenance equipment and numerous historic freight and passenger rail cars. Usually two of the steam locomotives are in operation in regularly scheduled events throughout the year. Check the web site for details.
The museum also maintains an extensive fleet of its original rolling stock, including passenger cars, wood-side box cars, ore cars, and work trains, all dating from the 1910s. It has the oldest operating tank car and the oldest operating coal-fired steam crane on any American railroad.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, the railroad was part of the Olympic Steam Team, carrying spectators to the Soldier Hollow Olympic venue. The railroad's No. 93 steam-engine, joined Utah's Heber Valley Railroad's Nos. 618 and 75 steam-engines, in pulling eight-car trains full of passengers, to the Soldier Hollow depot where they disembarked and continued to the venue entrance on a horse-drawn sleigh. The day prior to the Opening Ceremony of the games, all three locomotives were combined into one triple-headed train, and used to transport the Olympic flame from Soldier Hollow to Heber City, Utah as part of the torch relay.
Depot building
The East Ely Depot served passengers on the Nevada Northern. The Mission Revival style depot was designed by Frederick Hale and built in 1907. It reflects a standardized vernacular that borrows primarily from the Mission Revival style, as well as from Renaissance Revival.
The two story depot is set on a stone foundation. The ground floor is rusticated stone, separated from the upper level by a painted stone belt course, with a stuccoed second story. The gables are curvilinear in the accepted Mission Revival style. The well-preserved interior retains separate men's and women's waiting rooms, with baggage and express rooms. Offices are on the second floor.
The depot was a significant location on the Nevada Northern as the chief embarkation point for the copper mining region of White Pine County. The location of the depot was a matter of controversy between the railroad and residents of Ely, who successfully sued the railroad to change the depot's name from Ely to East Ely to reflect its distance from the main townsite. The railroad, originally owned by the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, was transferred to the Kennecott Copper Company in 1933 when it took over Consolidated's mining operations. Passenger service on the Nevada Northern stopped in 1941, and the depot was used for Kennecott offices until 1985. The state of Nevada acquired the depot in 1990 for the museum.
The East Ely Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Special event trains
At periodic times or seasons, the museum operates the following special event trains:
Rockin' & Rollin' Geology Train
This special event train excursion features presentations by local geologists covering railroad & mining history with a show and tell of ore samples from the Robinson Nevada Mining District. The event includes an authentic miner-style dinner - a beef and potato and Cornish pasty. Reservations are suggested.
BBQ Express
This dinner train features a real western BBQ - on rails. Seating is usually limited. Reservations are suggested.
Wild West Limited
This steam train excursion includes cowboys and cowboy grub. Watch your wallet - this train may just be held up!
Steptoe Valley Flyer
This museum-highlight train travels back in time to deliver a classic railroad experience. The Steptoe Valley Flyer was the train that carried 4.5 million passengers from 1906 to 1941 to White Pine County, Nevada. Departing from the original depot, passengers board the original first-class passenger car #5 (built in 1882) behind baggage/railway US Post Office car #20 (built in 1906) and steam locomotive #40 (built in 1910). Reservations are suggested for these much-in-demand trips. An emigrant's meal is served.
Haunted Ghost Trains
Riders should prepare themselves for a scary trip on a haunted train. Ghost stories come alive as local volunteers create a thematic experience for all those aboard. Zombies, ghosts, ghouls, aliens and even Bigfoot could appear at any time!
Polar Express
This Christmas seasonal train is one of the highlights of the year. The Polar Express heads to the "North Pole" to visit with Santa Claus. On the trip, volunteers serve hot chocolate and cookies as they read the story the Polar Express. Reservations are suggested for these much-in-demand trips.
Heritage railroad
The museum operates a short rail line that was formerly owned by the Nevada Northern Railway as a heritage railroad. This line was called the "Ore Line" and the museum runs excursion trains westward from Ely to Ruth, and northeast from Ely to the vicinity of McGill. One of the trains is advertised as the Ghost Train of Old Ely.
References
External links
- Nevada Northern Railway Museum website
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