Nevada Northern Railway Museum

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railway museum in northern Nevada in Ely. The museum consists of the operated by the White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation Museum railway operations and railway premises in East Ely. The station area is a National Historic Landmark.

Museum

In the early 1980s it became known that the mining operation Kennecott Copper would stop running the Nevada Northern Railway. Inspired by the already carried out tourist trains, one wished for a continuation of this traffic. However, the mining company was not interested, but agreed to the transfer of the Northern Nevada Railway to a corresponding operators. So in 1987 received the newly established non-profit organization White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation of the business property (path, building, operating documents ) worth $ 7,200,000 paid. The association, however, had at that time no revenue to ensure the entertainment. Larger companies that could provide financial support, no longer were after the departure of the mining operations in the region.

In the following years, volunteers started the restoration of cars and the locomotive No. 40 and took the 1990 museum operation. In exchange for the building of the Cherry Creek Station to the White Pine Public Museum, they purchased the two steam locomotives No. 81 and No. 93 are also two earlier diesel locomotives from ALCo could be acquired. However, around 6000 visitors a year were not sufficient to ensure the security operation. Trying the train failed to devote as a state park. However, the Nevada Division of Museums and History took over in 1990, the station building and goods shed of East Ely and set it after a renovation in 1992 with the " East Ely Railroad Depot Museum " a branch of the Nevada State Railroad Museum a. The building in the Mission style was built in 1907 and has been preserved in its original state. In the museum the entire operating documents of the previous Northern Nevada are kept. The Railway Museum of the maintenance costs for these buildings was liberated by this measure.

Due to an accident in 1995 with a runaway freight car and locomotive 93 was this so badly damaged that a quick restart was not possible. Train operation had consequently be set in this year. In the aftermath of railway operations was further restricted. But the fees of the Northern Nevada Railroad and the BHP Nevada Railroad for the use of the range of museum railway enabled the maintenance operation.

Such was the heritage railway in 2002 with 49 trips made no longer in a position to ensure an orderly regular operation. Therefore, the entrepreneur Mark Bassett was appointed Managing Director. In order to obtain enough revenue, he put a roadmap with a train operation on four days a week fixed. This allowed 698 runs in 2006 are planned and carried out. The offer includes not only normal Museumszugfahrten, but also trips with an accompanying program for specific occasions, such as Halloween. The passenger numbers rose to 14,000. In order to extend the range of the museum, the Lokbehandlungsanlagen for visitors were made available. For special tours you can visit the blacksmith and repair shops and see it in action.

In 1984, the station building of East Ely was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Since the entire station area the state during the Dampflokära reflects largely unchanged since 1993, is also what this as "Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops" in the list of monuments. On September 20, 2006, it was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks.

Route network

The Northern Nevada Railway Museum operates the route between the Northern Nevada Keystone with Ruth about East Ely to McGill on McGill Junction and after Adverse with McGill.

Vehicle park

In the museum's collection are three steam locomotives. The locomotive No. 40 ( wheel arrangement 2'C ) built in 1910 at Baldwin and the No. 93 ( 1'D ) are built in 1909 at ALCo operational. The non-operative 1'D Locomotive No. 81 was manufactured in 1917 at Baldwin.

Four of the nine diesel locomotives are operational. These are an ALCO RS-2, an ALCO RS-3, an EMD SD9 and a GE 25 - ton switcher. The non-operational locomotives are a Baldwin VO -1000, a BLH S-12, an Alco RS- 3 and two ALCO MRS -1.

From the former mining company Kennecott Copper you took two electric locomotives from General Electric.

The seven cars from the years 1886 to 1928 are in varying condition. Two cars are currently being restored.

The museum also has an operational steam-powered rail crane, which is also used for special photo shoots as well as a Rotary snow blower from 1907.