The 'East Ely' station, which is the museum and headquarters for the railroad. (Click on picture for a larger version)
Nevada Northern Railway (Ely)
One of the more interesting things about Ely is that they've put quite a bit of effort into maintaining the railroad that once was the lifeline of the surrounding mines (the Nevada Northern). And, they've kept the railroad in a way that is different from many other older railroads in the west -- they focus on keeping it running as it originally existed, rather than adding specially refurbished equipment designed to attract tourists. As the CEO of the railroad said, 'this was a working railroad with nothing fancy, and that is what it will remain.' More on the railroad is available from their website: http://nevadanorthernrailway.net/
Since I enjoy older trains and have friends that enjoy them, here's lots of pictures:
|
|
The 'East Ely' station, which is the museum and headquarters for the railroad. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The following pictures are of the rail yard area showing the equipment and structures that remain (and remain in use.) (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
(Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
There's at least one excursion train a day during the summer months. Some days it is pulled by an older diesel locomotive that was built in the 50's. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
Other equipment sitting in the rail yard. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The engine house (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
The day I took the excursion train, it was pulled by a steam engine. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The nameplate for the above locomotive -- note the date it was built. The 'Pittsburg Works' refers to a steel mill that was in Pittsburg, California. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
(Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The Saturday excursion goes west from the station out past the old (and abandoned) mining town of Lane City. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
The Nevada Hotel and central Ely, from the train. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The tunnel is as it was originally built in the 20's, and is apparently one of a few curved railroad tunnels in the U.S. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
At the end of the line, the only way to turn the train around is for the engine to disconnect from the cars and then reconnect on the opposite end. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The CEO of the railroad was with us that day (in the red cap). Everyone else running the train was volunteers. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
An ancient tractor, next to the tailings from the copper mine near Ruth, NV (just west of Ely, viewed from the train). This was a very large copper mine that basically removed an entire mountain. The first time I saw Ely, in the 1970's, the mine was active. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
From the train, looking towards the mountains to the east. In the lower center of the picture you can see the water tower that is in the rail yards. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
One of the two passenger cars on the excursion train. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
The engine and cars of the Nevada Northern were loaned to Utah in 2002 to transport visitors of the Winter Olympics. The Nevada Brothel Owner's Association was a contributor to the costs of loaning the trains to Utah. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
|
|
|
One of the excursion trips on the train is to McGill, which is about 10 miles north of Ely. Unfortunately, the railroad has not been able to get funding to restore the McGill train station. (Click on picture for a larger version) |
