The Nevada Northern Railway is a non-profit 501(c) historical
foundation that depends on your memberships, donations, and volunteer time to accomplish its mission.
Join the team that makes it happen - Become a member
In 1956 the Nevada Northern Railway purchased a 1956 Pontiac Station Wagon from the
Fairmont Motor Car company. At first glance, it looked like any other station
wagon, but if you looked closely, you would see small railroad wheels under the
car. These railroad wheels would allow the car to operate on the railroad tracks
and on the state’s highways.
The way the HY-RAILERS worked was this: You
drove the car to a railroad highway crossing. Block traffic and maneuver the car so it
is on the
track, then drop down the small railroad wheels onto the rail and lock them into place. Now
you could drive down the track. Once you arrived at your destination, you went
on to a railroad highway crossing, raised the railroad wheels and drove off down
the highway. Needless to say, the HY-RAILERS were considerably more economical
to operate than a train.
What to Expect
You can actually take the Nevada Northern Railway's restored Fairmont Hy-Rail
car out on the original Mainline track. This vehicle began life as a very
cool 1956 Pontiac Chieftain station wagon. Fairmont converted many of these
American family cars into utility vehicles for America's railroads. Hy-Rail
cars are equally at home on both highways and railroad tracks.
In this experience you will be there for the transition from road-to-rail and back again,
and half of the trip on rail and half on highway.
The experience is round-trip
from East Ely to Lane City. You will go out on the NNRY mainline
through two tunnels and up 2% grades. We return to East Ely via highway on the
"Loneliest Road in America', US 50. The entire experience covers
about 10 miles and take about an hour.
One option is for you and up to two other guests to ride while we drive. The
other option is for you to operate with up to two guests along to enjoy the
ride in the hy-rail car. Either way you will have a unique
experience and also be doing your part to financially support the restoration
and preservation that the Foundation is undertaking here.
We will start with an orientation showing you how, back in the day, Fairmont
mounted a set of rail wheels to good old American station wagons, thus enabling
them to also be rail utility vehicles. We will also demonstrate to you how
the station wagon coverts itself into a rail vehicle.
Once that happens we will be off for a ride on the rails in the seats of the
1956 Pontiac Chieftain, and then return via the highway.
You and your party will be escorted by one of our staff members on this
experience. You will be the only participants on this experience.
Prices below are for the Hy-Rail Experience. That can be one person, or three people total sharing the experience.
These prices represent our best estimate for the long-term
sustainability of the locomotives, right-of-way, and maintenance facilities.
We are an independent non-profit foundation that relies on your continued patronage to
sustain the programs here.
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Comments (2)
New
Bart Cox
1
0
0
Feb 2022
Bart Cox
(Scottsdale, Arizona, US)
says...
Cool station wagon!
Dad was Ed Cox of W.T. Cox co.. Next time in Nevada will stop by!!!
Admin:
Bart, that is cool. Hope that you will stop by and say hi.
Lynn and Bill Ressegue
(Kingman, Arizona, US)
says...
My second visit to Ely and the Northern Nevada Railway. Yesterday took a trip on the Hy-rail , a 56 Pontiac converted to run on the rails, ride was great and we had a wonderful lady driver who let us in on the history of the RR and Ely and this part of NV. At the end of the ride she took us down off the rail wheels and back on rubber to drive back to the Depot . Saturday will be the Rockin' and Rollin' Geology train. Like everything else with this restored Norther Nevada Railway everything is first class. The Yard, Depot, Shop and the whole facility is kept up in exceptional condition with everything in its place Great displays and exhibits in the museum and depot. Just 5 1/2 hours from Kingman Arizona so if you wanted to make it a week-end trip you could do just that. Several nice places to stay including at least 5 Casinos with rooms and some good fast food to excellent steak at the Jail House .
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As with most things in life, it started with a simple comment. “Hey
that’s a cool 1956 Pontiac Chieftain Station Wagon.”
Paul Mickelson, one of
the museum members, had been reading a book that Joan and I had done on the
Nevada Northern Railway. In the book was a photo of Nevada Northern Railway
HY-RAIL 18. A HY-RAIL vehicle is a car or truck that can go either on the
HighwaY or on the RAILroad tracks. Another friend had forwarded the picture of
HY-RAIL 18 that he had found at a swap meet. I thought it was a cool photo and
included it in the book. I had never taken the time to identify what type of
vehicle it was, so I did a little research after Paul’s comments.
In 1956 the Nevada Northern Railway purchased a 1956 Pontiac Station Wagon from the
Fairmont Motor Car company. At first glance, it looked like any other station
wagon, but if you looked closely, you would see small railroad wheels under the
car. These railroad wheels would allow the car to operate on the railroad tracks
and on the state’s highways.
The way the HY-RAILERS worked was this: You
drove the car to a railroad highway crossing. Angle the car so it was on the
track, then drop down the small railroad wheels and lock them into place. Now
you could drive down the track. Once you arrived at your destination, you went
on to a railroad highway crossing, raised the railroad wheels and drove off down
the highway. Needless to say, the HY-RAILERS were considerably more economical
to operate than a train.
So out of curiosity, I goggled “1956 Pontiac
Chieftain Station Wagon”, just to find more information on the vehicle. And
surprise! I found that there was one on eBay for a very reasonable price in
excellent condition for its age. Uh-oh! That got the wheels turning. What if the
railroad could get their hands on the 1956 Pontiac and recreate HY-RAIL 18?
Why even consider such a project? Due to the isolation of the Nevada Northern
Railway, our visitors must travel great distances to visit our National Historic
Landmark Railroad. They come to the railroad for many reasons; but the number
one reason is to ride a train.
This puts us in a dilemma: We would like to
operate a train, whenever we have visitors, but the fact is - that is not always
economically feasible. Taking this concept from the railroad’s history, our idea
was to convert a 1956 Pontiac Station Wagon into a recreation of Nevada Northern
Railway HY-RAIL MOTOR CAR #18. Since the vehicle can go onto the railroad track,
we could use it to offer rides to visitors who come when no trains are running.
HY-RAIL MOTOR CAR #18 might not be a train, but it would be eye-catching,
exciting and fun. We could use it to explain the history and the heritage of the
railroad. And just like sixty years ago, HY-RAIL MOTOR CAR #18 would be
considerably more economical to operate than a train. Its recreation would be
the solution to our dilemma of visitors coming on days and times that trains
weren’t operating. Additionally, we would use it as a marketing tool by driving
it to travel and trade shows.
Well, one thing led to another and a member of
the museum purchased the vehicle and donated it to the museum. Great and not so
great. Now we were committed to the project. That was exciting, but where would
the funding for the project come from? And how much would it cost?
Sometimes
things happen serendipitously. About the same time we received the Pontiac, the
State of Nevada announced a grant program for tourism projects. We applied and
received $20,000! So far, so good, but that would not be enough. So we applied
to the Great Basin Heritage Partnership through their grant program and scored!
We received an additional $35,000. Now we had the funds to start the project.
Next step was to select an automotive restoration shop that had done unusual
projects and was willing to take on this odd project. After extensive research,
two possible vendors were selected, one in Missouri and one a lot closer here in
Nevada. After more phone calls and e-mails, the Nevada shop was selected. Now we
were on the road, so to speak.
Working with the vendor we developed a plan.
We decided to do a frame-on restoration. The Pontiac was stripped and then
sandblasted to remove the paint. At the same time, the engine and transmission
were rebuilt to original specifications. Now came the tedious part, stripping
the car to bare metal and addressing all of the rust that a 60 year-old vehicle
would have.
While this was going on we decided to do more research into the
vehicle. First stop was the archives of the railroad. Going through the General
Managers Orders (GMO) we found the authorization to order the Pontiac! On March
22, 1956, GMO 2387 was authorized, “…to spend $7,860.26 for one Fairmont A-34 Hy
Rail Motor Car to replace the 1939 Cadillac and 1941 Ford track cars.”
Once
we found out when the vehicle was ordered, we were curious about whether or not
there were any records from Fairmont. Fairmont doesn’t exist anymore, in 1979 it
merged into Harsco Corporation. We thought this was going to be a long shot. We
didn’t think that they would have anything, but thought we should try anyways
and we’re glad we did! They had a copy of the original order! They provided us
with copies of the sales brochure for the A-34 Motor Car, the sales order and a
record of the HY-RAIL being shipped!
Nevada Northern Railway HY-RAIL #18,
A34-A-2, Car No. 213104, Engine No. P756H43949, Engine Make PONTIAC, Engine Type
STRATO STREAK was tested on 5-4-56. The paint color (if not standard) was Dark
Green. It was shipped to the Nevada Northern Railway Company, East Ely, Nevada
on 5-28-56 via the CMSTP&P (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad).
They also included a handwritten list of all of the A34-A-2 HY-RAILS that
were shipped from 3-1-56 to 12-4-56. On the list were the Baltimore & Ohio, Mpls
& St. Louis, Delaware & Hudson, Mo-Kans-Tex, Virginian, Alaska, T & NO,
Louisville & Nash, Denver & R.G., Ches. & Ohio, Lehigh & NE., Tenn. Central,
North Pac, and Penn RR[RB1]. They also built a demonstrator that year that they
also sold. Meanwhile work was continuing on the Pontiac. The engine and
transmission were rebuilt to like new. Then it was stripped, sanded, repaired
where needed, sanded again. Now it was time for paint and reassembly. Slowly the
car started to come together. The vast majority of the parts were there but
there were some missing parts. Our vendor searched and searched and was able to
find everything we needed. Finally, the car was complete! And oh boy, they
literally did a museum quality restoration! To look at the car is to travel back
in time!
Ok, the car is restored, but
we’re only half way there. Now we are on to the next step, putting HY-RAIL gear
on the car. The car is at our vendor in California getting the HY-RAIL gear
installed. This will be a custom installation. The process to install the
HY-RAIL gear is almost done.
Great, we are close to finishing this project
and it will have an impact on our operations and how people learn about us. But
like everything else here at the museum, the successful completion of one
project causes another problem (or challenge if you prefer.) We will shortly be
bringing home a museum quality replica of Nevada Northern Railway HY-Rail 18!
Great! And the problem (or the challenge if you prefer): Where are we going to
store it!
Well it’s funny how things work out.
The garage where HY-Rail #18 was stored back in the 50's had been recently hit
by a car, so it needed some help. To complete
the restoration this building is being refurbished by adding a concrete floor, heat, new roof and
electricity.
Now that the restoration process is complete you are able to experience the
1950's again right here in Ely. Most people tell us that the entire
town is like a time machine that is stuck in the last century. We take
that as a complement, so come and join us as we all experience the excitement of
a new 1956 Pontiac Chieftain Hy-Rail, just delivered "new" from the factory.
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Comments (2)
Cool station wagon!
Dad was Ed Cox of W.T. Cox co.. Next time in Nevada will stop by!!!
Bart, that is cool. Hope that you will stop by and say hi.
My second visit to Ely and the Northern Nevada Railway. Yesterday took a trip on the Hy-rail , a 56 Pontiac converted to run on the rails, ride was great and we had a wonderful lady driver who let us in on the history of the RR and Ely and this part of NV. At the end of the ride she took us down off the rail wheels and back on rubber to drive back to the Depot . Saturday will be the Rockin' and Rollin' Geology train. Like everything else with this restored Norther Nevada Railway everything is first class. The Yard, Depot, Shop and the whole facility is kept up in exceptional condition with everything in its place Great displays and exhibits in the museum and depot. Just 5 1/2 hours from Kingman Arizona so if you wanted to make it a week-end trip you could do just that. Several nice places to stay including at least 5 Casinos with rooms and some good fast food to excellent steak at the Jail House .