Mark Bassett

You’ve dreamed it of being in the cab of a steam locomotive. You’ve wondered what it would be like to pull out the throttle on 100-tons of steam locomotive. Well, you can stop dreaming and actually do it. As part of the outreach program at the Nevada Northern Railway National Historic Landmark, you have the […]

The New York Stock Exchange fell close to fifty percent from its peak of the previous year. Panic occurred; there were numerous runs on banks and trust companies. Throughout the country, state and local banks along with businesses entered into bankruptcy. This all happened during a time of economic recession. Sounds like recent headlines, doesn’t

An op-ed by Bill WithuhnCurator, Division of Work and Industry, Smithsonian Institution My views here are my own as a former businessman and as one with some forty years in railroading: working closely on federal legislation and regulation; firing, running, and repairing locomotives; and—for the past twenty-six years—working in historic preservation and in the study

There is a book written by Stephen Ambrose titled Nothing Like It in the World. It’s a long title; the book describes the building of the transcontinental railroad one hundred and forty years ago. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it. My career has been varied. But in that career, I have never experienced

The State of Nevada has twenty-four official state symbols. All of the symbols were designated by an official act of the legislature. The first legislative act of this type was the designation in 1953 of the single-leaf pinion as Nevada’s official state tree. In 2001, three items were added to the official list: Silver State Fanfare,

Last year was an incredible year for the museum. We had our ups, we had our downs followed by more ups and then more downs, and then more ups. It was an exciting roller coaster ride to say the least. We began the year with both of our steam locomotives out of service. Locomotive 40

If you are looking for a distinctive gift or a gift that is a once in a lifetime experience then look no further than the Nevada Northern Railway Gift Shop. Purchases from the gift shop support the preservation activities of the railroad and better yet, they are tax-free. Gifts are available for every budget. For

In 2008, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum was hit with a perfect storm. Starting in the last quarter of 2007, steam locomotives 93 & 40 were taken out of service for repairs. The Adverse branch was also taken out of service for repairs. The Keystone branch had a series of slow orders. And the north

I am often asked, “How can you afford to operate a steam-era railroad in rural Nevada in the 21st century?” Well, there’s no two ways about it—it is a monumental undertaking. The size and the scope of the railroad are unbelievable. So how do we do it? One of our secrets is a strong, vibrant

On October 8, the Ely Times front-page headline was “State to Close East Ely Railroad Museum after $1.4 million Renovation.” The article went on to say that “the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum is at risk of being closed by the state [because of] state budget cuts wrought by economic problems” and continues with the statement that;