Nevada Northern Railway Museum facts for kids
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Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards, East Ely Depot
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Passenger train operated by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, at the Museum's East Ely depot, September 2007.
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 Location in Nevada
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ely, Nevada |
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| Area | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Frederick Hale |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals |
| NRHP reference No. | 93000693 (yards), 84002082 (depot) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 29, 1993 (yards), April 12, 1984 (depot) |
| Designated NHLD | September 20, 2006 |
The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a cool place in Ely, Nevada, where you can explore old trains! It's a railway museum and a special heritage railroad. The State of Nevada owns it, and a group works hard to keep the history of the Nevada Northern Railway alive.
At the museum, you can see old trains being fixed up and even running again. They offer fun, hands-on experiences. You can also enjoy special events like Halloween trains and Santa-themed trains for Christmas. It's one of the few spots in the world where you can actually drive a real steam locomotive! Just remember, you need to plan ahead for that amazing experience.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
The museum is located at the East Ely Yards. These yards are a big part of the Nevada Northern Railway. This whole area is so important that it's listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. It's known as the "Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops." In 2006, it became a National Historic Landmark District.
This site is special because it's one of the best-preserved old railroad yards from the early 1900s. It played a huge role in the growth of the region's copper mining industry. The yards were built in the early 1900s. They carried people and goods until 1983. Then, the Kennecott Copper Company, which owned it, gave the yard to a local group to save it. The museum even got all the old company records from the railway's beginning!
Amazing Train Collection
The museum has an awesome collection of trains. You can see three of the railway's original steam locomotives. There's also an electric locomotive and several diesel-electric locomotives. Plus, they have lots of maintenance equipment and historic freight and passenger cars.
Operating Steam Locomotives
Two of the steam locomotives, #81 and #93, run regularly throughout the year. Locomotive #40 is currently being worked on to get it back in service. Did you know that Locomotive #40 is the official State Locomotive of Nevada?
Historic Rail Cars
The museum also keeps many of its original rail cars. These include passenger cars, wooden box cars, ore cars, and work trains. All of these date back to the 1910s! They even have the oldest operating tank car and the oldest operating coal-fired steam crane on any American railroad.
Olympic Journey of Locomotive #93
In 2002, when the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, locomotive #93 was part of the "Olympic Steam Team." It helped carry spectators to the Soldier Hollow Olympic venue. The day before the games started, #93 joined two other steam locomotives. Together, they pulled a special train that carried the Olympic flame! This was part of the torch relay.
Current Status of Locomotives
Locomotive #40 was taken out of service in late 2020. It's undergoing a big inspection and overhaul, which is required by law. Locomotive #81 returned to service in September 2021 after its own boiler test. Another steam locomotive, Steptoe Valley Mining & Smelting #3, is also stored at the museum. It used to work at the McGill smelter.
The Historic East Ely Depot Building
The East Ely Depot was once the main station for passengers on the Nevada Northern Railway. This beautiful building was designed by Frederick Albert Hale and built in 1907. It has a special look called Mission Revival style. It also borrows some ideas from Renaissance Revival architecture.
The depot has two stories and sits on a strong stone foundation. The bottom floor is made of rough stone. A painted stone band separates it from the top floor, which is covered in stucco. The curved gables are a classic part of the Mission Revival style. Inside, it's very well-preserved. You can still see the separate waiting rooms for men and women. There are also rooms for baggage and express deliveries. The offices were on the second floor.
Importance and Changes
This depot was a very important spot for the Nevada Northern. It was the main place where people traveled to and from the copper mining areas of White Pine County. There was even a disagreement between the railroad and the people of Ely about the depot's name. The townspeople successfully sued to change the name from Ely to East Ely. This showed that it was a bit far from the main town.
The railroad was first owned by the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. In 1933, it was transferred to the Kennecott Copper Company. Passenger service at the depot stopped in 1941. After that, Kennecott used the building for offices until 1985. In 1990, the state of Nevada bought the depot for the museum. The East Ely Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Heritage Railroad Experience
The museum and Ely City own the entire original Nevada Northern Railway route. However, only a small part of it, from Ruth to Ely, is currently used for tourist trains. There are plans to reopen the line to McGill, thanks to a $10 million federal grant announced in October 2021. Another separate part of the track connects to the Union Pacific mainline at Shafter, Nevada. This section is used to store rail cars.
See also
