Major Projects
Ellsmere Restoration Project
Ellsmere was built in December of 1899 for Dr. William Seward Webb, then president of the Wagner Palace Car Co of Buffalo, New York. With a long and rich history, this car came to the Nevada Southern Railway in the early 2000’s, and remains one of our most ambitious and important restoration projects, to date.
The Nevada State Railroad Museum, 601 Yucca St., is planning to expand its facility to include a 9,700-square-foot visitors center, new boarding platforms, display buildings and linear park with interactive features for children and links to the River Mountains Loop Trail. The Museum is one step away from securing funding for its proposed expansion as a bill to reauthorize bonds for the project was signed by the governor after passing in the Senate in June, 2019.
Live Steamers operate on a 7.5″ gauge 1.5″ scale operating railroad. It’s called “live steamers” because they operate real steam engines – not models – at a scale of 1½” equals 1 foot on a standard gauge train. They have over 2000 feet of track laid, with more coming. Free rides are provided on public “run” days, which are currently the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month (except January, July & August). Some days diesel replicas are substituted for the steam engines.
The model railroad car on the station platform, a 1914 Union Pacific Chair Car, with the interior reworked to include 2 model railroads (HO Scale, and O Gauge) and displays.
Equipment Restoration
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 as the train sped towards its destination. Please stop by the railroad museum in Boulder City and see an original railway post office car, and see how mail was sorted.