The Nevada Northern Railway Internship Program
Designed to give students and adults a unique opportunity to work in the museum field at a National Historic Landmark.
The NNRy is not your typical museum, our goal is to not only preserve the past but to allow visitors to experience it first hand through the sights, sounds, and smells of a working steam era shortline railroad. Here the museum is the railroad and the railroad is the museum.
Interns will have the opportunity to work side by side with people who maintain, preserve and operate this unique piece of Industrial American History for a living.
What does being an Intern at The NNRy mean?
As an intern, you will spend 8-13 weeks (more if you wish) at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada working in the departments of the railroad. As this is an operating railroad museum the departments range from the mechanical and operational end to preservation, marketing and fund raising. As mentioned above, you will be working along side people who have chosen museum work for a career; one of which will be your mentor. Every intern will be assigned a mentor to ensure that you will get the most out of this unique opportunity.
You will undertake a highly unusual and dangerous responsibility, historic railroading. You will be using historic locomotives and equipment to demonstrate to the public what railroading was like in the last century. There are no push buttons, this is hard, demanding, physical work that requires your full attention at all times. Our program is unusual, we use paid staff with volunteers and interns to create a team that run trains and rehabilitates the equipment and buildings of this National Historic Landmark.
This is a real time, hands-on experience and it does have its dangers. When you join our team, you are committing to follow our rules and policies. Unless you have a railroad background, the terms, equipment, and hand signals will be foreign to you. That's okay; we all started the same way.
The internships are paid a stipend of $150 per week, plus lodging in our bunkhouse. An internship does not guarantee employment at the Nevada Northern or other museums.
Ely is located approximately four hours north of Las Vegas and four hours south west of Salt lake City, Utah. It is a small mining town of about 4,000 people. It is remote, we do not have a Wal-Mart. Despite this, it is a very comfortable town with many places to explore within a short distance such as Great Basin National Park.
Nevada Northern Railway Museum Interns will have the unique opportunity to participate in:
• Special programs and events
• Official NNRY Safety Training
Open Internship Positions
Hear From Our Interns
"This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the Nevada Northern Railway Museum’s internship program. As an Operations Intern, I was able to gain skills in railroad operations, locomotive and car maintenance, and learn a great deal about the history of the railroad. I was also taught maintenance-of-way skills, getting an opportunity to work with a track crew to replace ties and tamp track. At the end of the summer, I was even given the opportunity to do several runs as a student engineer. Overall I would highly recommend the internship program to anyone with an interest in railroad history or operations."
"My name is Nick Stewart and I was the Archive Intern for Summer 2025. My introduction to the
internship program was actually while I was at the Nevada Northern for the annual winter photoshoots.
I knew that I wanted to get involved in railroad preservation after witnessing the dedication of the
employees and volunteers firsthand. During my time in Ely, I learned more about the railroad and its
people than I could have imagined. You think you know a lot about a place until you're actually handling
artifacts that played significant roles in the daily operations of the railroad. I also really enjoyed getting
to do other projects outside of the archive, and for me, that often-meant photographing railroad events
and narrating for the train rides. The internship program at the Nevada Northern is not really something
you can find in many other places and I was so fortunate to be part of the team."
"I was the operations intern for the 2023 season. As someone who had next to no railroad experience
(but plenty of interest) the internship was a dream come true. Living and working in and around a
railyard doing a variety of tasks kept me on my toes. No two days were the same. I had plenty of
supportive coworkers who taught me so much about what it takes to keep living history rolling. Working
at the Nevada Northern was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. I would very highly
recommend it."
"I came to Ely for two consecutive summers to work in the Archive Intern position offered by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Despite being hired for the archive position, I was still able to work in a variety of positions around the railroad, helping out in the shop, on a track crew, and even in train service. Every year I went, I learned something new and all my effort was generously rewarded. Working at the Nevada Northern was one of my favorite experiences I have ever had, and I still help out the archive department on a volunteer basis. Anyone on the fence on applying to the internship absolutely should - you won't regret a single second of it!"
“My internship at the Nevada Northern Railway was truly one of a kind. I don’t know of anywhere else in the country as dedicated to operating, maintaining, and preserving living railroad history—and so willing to share that knowledge with future generations. I learned invaluable skills from highly professional and friendly staff who provided real-world, hands-on experience. For anyone considering a future career in railroading or museum work, this is truly the place to be.”
Interested in Applying?
QUALIFICATIONS: Our Intership program is open to college students and graduates; high school diploma or equivalent; 3.0 GPA or higher.
INTERVIEWS: Finalists will be contacted and will undergo a phone interview.
Please mail complete application materials to, or submit them in a digital form through the form below:
Mark S. Bassett, President
Nevada Northern Railway Museum
PO Box 150040, Ely, NV. 89315
APPLICATION MATERIALS
- Nevada Northern Railway Museum Internship Program Application signed by the student and a professor or advisor
- Essay (500 words) On why you want to do an internship at the Nevada Northern Railway and your goals you want to achieve.
- Two Letters of Recommendations (One must be from a professor or advisor.)
- Official Academic Transcript