Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Safety around the Trains

Safety at the Railroad Museum We certainly appreciate all of our 55,000+ visitors that come out to the museum to see the trains and learn more about trains and railroading.  We do request that you, the visitor enjoy your trip, but please be aware of your safety, as we are,

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway, Ellsmere, Wagner Palace Car,

Ellsmere

Ellsmere – Basic History Ellsmere was built in December of 1899 for Dr. William Seward Webb, then president of the Wagner Palace Car Co of Buffalo, New York.  This was the last passenger car and a private business car built by Wagner as in 1900 the company merged with the

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Railway Postal Car

Long before cell phones, texts, and email the U.S. Mail connected the nation. In the 1800s, the United States Post Office realized the potential of using the railroad to not only transport mail, but also sort it along the route. Mailbags once untouched for days were now opened and sorted

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Back In Time

Take a trip back in time on historic rail line every town in the nation. Today, fewer railroads serve America and fewer Americans ride the trains that remain. A couple of generations now have missed the experience of train travel. In yesteryear, dozens of railroads served Nevada. Old maps of

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Nevada Southern Railway History

Our Nevada Southern Railway excursion train here in Boulder City Nevada is the third railway by this name. In 1928, the Federal Government appropriated $165 Million for the construction of the Boulder Canyon project, soon renamed to Boulder Dam and later given it’s current name of Hoover Dam. To bring

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Coaches

The term Harriman refers to railroad equipment built in the 1900’s and 1910’s to a set of common standards that were used by the Harriman controlled Southern Pacific and Union Pacific. The coaches are 72′ 0″ long over the end sills, 9’9-7/8″ wide, and 14’0″ from rail to top of

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Wheelchair Accessible Car

Compliant with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). This Harriman style coach was built in 1916. It was modified here at the Museum to have side loading doors for use with a lift so that it can accommodate wheelchairs and passengers who cannot climb stairs into the cars. A half-bath

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Dining Car

A 1949 ex-Union Pacific Dining Car has completed its restoration. Permanent tables are now set up and 48 people can be accommodated for birthday parties and private functions. The recent project included the restoration of the original tables (below) and the acquisition of formal dining chairs – twelve tables of

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Hard Top Open Air Car

The Open Air Passenger Car is of Heavyweight design. It has three axles (six wheels) on each truck instead of the two axles per truck used for the enclosed passenger cars. To give the car a smooth ride when it was in passenger service, the floor is several inches of

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Boulder City, NV, NV State Railroad Museum, Hoover Dam, Union Pacific, Nv Southern Railway

Head End Power (HEP) Car

The Head End Power Car was created because our locomotives were designed to operate as yard switchers or with freight trains. They do not have the power generation needed by passenger trains for things such as lighting, air conditioning, and announcement systems. The Head End Power car was originally a

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