Mark Bassett

  When I accepted the job as Executive Director of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, in my imagination I saw myself sitting high in the cab of the steam locomotives. Clean bibs, crisp shirt, hickory stripped cap with gauntlet gloves, left hand on the throttle, controlling 100 tons of steam locomotive. The reality shall we say […]

The museum has been busy all of 2005 and we haven’t slowed down for the new year. For starters we ended the year by carrying 13,014 passengers, which makes 2005 our sixth straight year of increased passenger load. The other interesting part of the 2005 passenger picture is the month of December. In December, we

Spike TV has a new “reality” TV program on called “Pro’s vs. Joe’s.” The theme of the program is ordinary folk take on the professional athletes. The short segment that I saw showed the “Joe’s” getting creamed—big surprise. This got me to thinking about the museum. You see the museum is in a race—a triathlon

Most people think of time travel as science fiction. That it is physically impossible. That is not necessarily true. Time travel into the past is possible and one of the time portals is the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Imagine being transported to a railroad complex in the late 1940’s. As you walk the grounds, cinders

Completion of the Nevada Northern Railway from Ely, through Robinson Canyon, and on to Ruth in July 1907 signaled the start of mining at Copper Flat. By the following month, Bucyrus-Erie railroad steam shovels were steadily stripping overburden into dump cars at the Eureka Pit. Nevada Northern Railway steam locomotives powered these early waste trains

It is the Christmas season. We’ve been running Polar Expresses since the day after Thanksgiving. During this time, I have heard the Twelve Days of Christmas sung countless times by our passengers on the way back from the North Pole. It wasn’t necessarily sung well, but it was sung with verve and vigor. Tonight as

The number one question asked by visitors to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum is, “Where’s the museum?” This question is generally asked by a person who is standing between the depot and the transportation building looking puzzled. They come here expecting a traditional museum, such as a building with equipment and displays in it. What

Last July I wrote, “Here we are in the mist of our busiest season ever and people want to know when the trains will run next year. So let’s put a kettle on the fire and take a peek in the crystal ball and develop next year’s schedule.” “In developing the schedule we are caught

In keeping with the season, it is time to make the resolutions for the New Year. 2006 is an important time for the railroad; it’s our Centennial Year! On September 29, 1906 Mark Requa, drove the Copper Spike that announced the conclusion of the building of the railroad from Cobre to Ely. It took the

As a museum, we have certain obligations to maintain and preserve our resources. September 29, 2006 is the centennial of the railroad. Most of the structures, buildings, and rolling stock date from the period of 1906 to 1916. What this means is that the museum’s infrastructure is also approaching its centennial. This is a double