Tag: nevadastaterailroadmuseum

Flickr user AgentADQ has put up some pictures of the July 4th fireworks show in Carson City this year.

Photo by Flickr user AgentADQ

There are also pictures of the V&T running up on the Comstock, and the Nevada State Railroad Museum from that same day.

Photo by Flickr user AgentADQ

For more, go see the whole set.

The 4th of July is always a big weekend at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. That's when they pull their special collections out into the sunlight, like V&T Engine #22, "The Inyo", one of the oldest running steam locomotives in the country. This year they have a new star to bring out, the McKeen Motor Car that they just spent 14 years fixing up. And they have other running locomotives, #25 and #8, although #8 has been down for repairs for a couple of years now. Saturday I went down to the museum and got pictures of all the various equipment they had on display.

Updated: more videos added to the end.

Sunday was the big unveiling of the McKeen Motor Car at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. The car has been in the restoration shop for 14 years and now is all done and ready to take to public on rides. But more than that, May 9th was also the 100th anniversary of when the car first arrived in Carson City.

100 years ago the V&T bought this car as a cheap replacement to running their steam trains every day. It lasted 35 years, but eventually was retired in 1945. It spent several years as a diner in Carson City, then was used as part of a plumbing store in south Carson. In 1996 it was uprooted and dragged here to the museum, and ever since then they've been rebuilding it. Now it's finally done, and seriously looks as good as the day it was built.

I stopped by the railroad museum for a bit on Sunday, long enough to see the car run around the tracks a couple of times. But then they stopped operations for an hour so they could give speeches and have a ceremony and break champagne over the bow. I checked and the tickets were all sold out until later in the afternoon, so I didn't get a chance to ride. But I did grab this video of it cruising down the line.

Even though I wasn't able to ride, YouTube user ferroequine was and posted this video of a trip around the circle.

It was a big event at the Railroad Museum. There were speeches given, a choir was singing, and there were hot dogs and hamburgers. Steam engine #25 was even brought out and parked at the station, though it wasn't giving rides. We climbed up and talked to the engine crew, and they said they were just sitting there all day, with the smallest fire and the lowest steam pressure possible, killing time and adding atmosphere. It's a rare day when the steam engines at the museum aren't the star of the show, but that's how it was on Sunday.

What happens now isn't clear. They spent all this time rebuilding the McKeen car, and you know they want to put it on display and bring it out for rides. But I don't think they have any firm plans to do either yet. Their schedule only calls for the standard summer schedule of operating the little green motor car on most weekends, with steam coming out on a few select holidays. The advantage of the McKeen car, though, is that it's easy to fire it up and bring it out with a small crew, much easier than any of the steam engines. So I wouldn't be surprised to see it at least parked outside when the museum is having a big weekend, and maybe on the Fourth of July have it running around the track.

Here are some more pictures.

Update: More movies.

The new turntable at the Nevada State Railroad Museum was assembled earlier this week. It's looking good, but they still have a little more work to go before it's ready. Not all the truss rods are in yet.

They're bringing this in just under the wire. Sunday's a big day at the museum, and they're going to need the turntable to get the equipment out onto the main line. The big unveiling of the McKeen motor car relies on them finishing on time. Here's a video about the McKeen that someone on YouTube put together:

The crew at the Nevada State Railroad Museum has taken on an ambitious project - to rebuild the turntable at the museum in just a few weeks. The turntable sits right outside their main buildings, and without it in operation none of their locomotives and other equipment can get out onto the main track. It needed to be rebuilt, though, since I believe it was still the original turntable from when the museum opened about 30 years ago, and in this harsh Nevada climate things that are made of wood don't last long. Especially when you're expecting it to hold a 40-ton locomotive.

There is an extra urgency to this project, since they have a pretty firm deadline of May 9th to get the new turntable operational. That's the day the McKeen Motor Car makes its public debut, with a big ceremony and public rides around the museum's track. The problem is, the McKeen right now is on the other side of the turntable, so if it's not ready by then the big day will be kind of a dud. Says Wendell Huffman of the museum, "After 25+ years in the Nevada weather, the old table was so warped and broken that it barely functioned. Everything now depends upon the completion of the new table by the 9th. We believe we'll make it, but are enjoying the suspense nevertheless."

The old turntable in action

Of all the things for me to miss...Peter Barton of the Nevada State Railroad Museum posted this message to Facebook today (Thursday):

A little before 9am today the railroad restoration shop crew at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City eased McKeen Motor Car, V&T No. 22 out of the shop and gingerly, ever so slowly, onto the turntable. Amazingly the wheel sets just fit on the table. So, the next obvious question to answer was whether the car could be turned. She could and we did. So now, lined up to the A” Line should we tempt fate and make the ultimate test of our confidence and move the car onto the railroad? We did. She moved smoothly through the first set of switches, over the diamond and down into the “hole.” More switches, moving southbound now, headed to Wabuska Depot. Crossing the first grade crossing and easing up along the platform at Wabuska. Would she clear the platform? She did. We observed carefully to insure she fit under the water tower. She did. More switches, more power and we started up the hill. Around the loop the car moved almost effortlessly. Brakes worked fine, power was ample, back to the Depot. We climbed off and stood silently in the sun observing the car and the depot – a scene of a century ago yet frozen still in time. Filled with emotion, we couldn’t speak but we knew the importance of this moment. Back aboard, retracing our route and back onto the turntable. On the ground admiring this awesome living artifact sitting astride the turntable, we shook hands and noted those who made this day possible: DeWitt, Stiver, Hobold, Tatum, Harding, Huffman, Ackerman, O’Cain, Smith, Wyatt, Drew, and Bernhard to name but a few. Chris DeWitt backed the car off of the turntable and back into the shop.

Now that I would have liked to see.

Nevada Appeal: State Railroad Museum seeks original riders of the historic McKeen Motor Car

The Nevada State Railroad Museum will mark the 100th year anniversary of the arrival in Carson City of the historic McKeen Motor Car on May 9 with a celebration scheduled for May 10.

The museum is seeking individuals who remember riding the McKeen Car during its original service on the famed Virginia & Truckee Railway between 1910 and 1945.

“We know of some existing residents who rode the McKeen car as children or young adults,” said Peter Barton, acting administrator of Museums & History. “We suspect there may be others out there, considering the McKeen Car was in service for over 35 years.”

Individuals who remember riding the car are urged to contact Teresa Moiola at 775-687-8323 or tmoiola@nevada culture.org to share their story and participate in the upcoming commemorative festivities.

The McKeen Motor Car, which has been under renovation at the Nevada State Railroad Museum for the last 14 years, is finally finished and ready to be publicly unveiled. This isn't the first time it's been out in the sunlight; they've taken it out a few times before, and I even had the perfect timing last year to be able to see it when it was out. But last year only the exterior was finished; the engine or power train hadn't been installed yet. Now it's all done, save a few finishing touches, and a date has been set for it to make its first public appearance.

May 9th, 2010, is the 100th anniversary of when the McKeen car first arrived in Carson City to run on the V&T Railroad. And that is the date the ceremony will be held to celebrate the completion of the renovation. A big gala will be held at Wabuska Station at the Railroad Museum, and a limited number of tickets will be sold to ride the car at $10 per adult.

For anyone who's been watching this renovation project, this is an exciting day. I'll be sure to be there on May 9th, which is also Mother's Day, to see the McKeen Car finally come out of its hiding hole.

More info is at the NSRM Friends site.

After all weekend chasing the $48 train up and down the Comstock, we went back to Carson City and rode the $5 train at the railroad museum. One train's as good as another for the kids.

One thing I've always struggled with is abstract photos. I tend to be too literal, too documentarian, and my eye has trouble seeing things as just shapes. Sunday I found myself at the Railroad Museum, with the locomotives and all their interesting gears and knobs and bolts. I determined to try some abstract shots, getting close, skewing the angles, and trying to play with the objects as just shapes, not things.