Uncategorized

One of the presenters at the Long Steel Rails Festival is John West. John is a supporter of the Nevada Northern Railway and has been coming to Ely for years to photograph the railroad. His presentation is titled, “A Life Wasted Chasing Trains.” In his own words I’ll let him explain the title and his […]

Recently, during a tour of the property, Sean Pitts of the East Ely Railroad Depot Museum used the phrase “reachable past” in his talk. Sean’s point of his narrative was that the past at the railroad museum is still reachable. He went on to elaborate that the people who maintained and operated the railroad are

For the past year or so the Nevada Northern Railway Museum has been marketing itself with the slogan “Still Steaming.” After all, we have an enormous amount of pride in the fact the steam locomotive 93 is still steaming and we are working hard to get steam locomotive 40 back in service. Yet it wasn’t

It has been a very busy spring at the museum. I thought I would take a moment and give a brief update of the activities at the museum. Let’s start with the locomotives. Steam locomotive 93, a 2-8-0, suffered a bearing problem in March on the 4th drive axle. Jack and the shop crew jacked up

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: our secret weapon that we use at the museum is the volunteers. Without volunteers, frankly, the trains would not run, track would not be maintained, buildings would not be painted, and rolling stock would not be maintained. Recently three volunteers spent the week in Ely

May 1st is the day when the 2004 season is officially off and running. As I write this, the weather is very unstable, first rain, then snow, and then sunshine. Then for variety we have snow, sun and then the rain, typical high desert weather in the springtime. It’s just the type of weather needed

This weekend, the museum will be conducting its annual safety training on the railroad as we gear up for our operating season. One of the mantras that we repeat constantly is that you should expect a train, “On Any Track, At Any Time, In Either Direction.” And if you are a parent or a grandparent

By the time you have read this, the Nevada Northern Railway operated a very unique train. The train consisted of Steam Locomotive 93, Baggage/Railway Post Office Car 20, First Class Coach 5, Coaches 07 and 08, Flat Car 23, and Caboose 6. This train was charter for the ELKS. This is a special train for

The Nevada Northern depends on volunteers to serve as crewmembers for its trains. This creates a challenge. The volunteers need to work together as a team in a hazardous endeavor. Yet the volunteers are always rotating and may work with one another rarely during the course of a season. To accomplish the safe passage of

The days are getting longer and the weather warmer. The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is gearing up for the most ambitious schedule in its history. Over 400 trains will be operating in 2004. That is over 8,000 rail miles for this year. It is a common misconception of the public that locomotives will power our