Nevada Southern Railroad Museum
The Nevada Southern Railroad Museum is a railroad museum and railroad museum in Boulder City , Nevada , near the Hoover Dam . It is operated by the Nevada State Railroad Museum , which is an agency of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs . The state of Nevada took over the rails and rights of way from the Union Pacific Railroad in 1985 .
Museum railway
The museum operates a museum railway on the tracks that were laid for the construction of the Hoover Dam, which runs 45-minute excursions in historical rail vehicles over an 11 km route. It is even possible to ride in the driver's cab of the locomotive to operate the locomotive. Operations started in 2002.
Mostly the former Union Pacific EMD GP30 No. 844 is used, which was built in 1963 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. It weighs around 125 tons and has a turbocharged V-16 cylinder diesel engine with 2250 hp. It had the Mount Hood Geep number 9 M # 90 in 1990 and the Southern Pacific Railroad number GS-4 # 4458 in 1991 , which meant that the historic Union Pacific 844 steam locomotive had to be temporarily renumbered with the number 8844. It was bequeathed to the museum and painted in the Union Pacific livery.
Standard gauge steam locomotives, 1435 mm (4 feet 8½ inches)
Baldwin Consolidation # 264 of the UPRR (1907)
Former Union Pacific # (renumbered later than # 6264) 264 is a steam locomotive wheel arrangement 2-8-0 ( Consolidation ), which in 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Union Pacific Railroad was built. It was one of the last steam locomotives in the UPRR system. It was decommissioned in 1950 and stored in La Salle, Colorado until it was donated to the Sons of the Utah Pioneers in 1959 . In 1981 the locomotive was brought to Heber City, Utah . The Nevada State Railroad Museum acquired them and brought them to Boulder City in 1993. With its 57 inch (1448 mm) drive wheels, it was one of four locomotive series developed by the Associated Railroads in the first year of their locomotive program. The Associated Railroads consisted of Southern Pacific , Chicago & Alton , Union Pacific and its sister companies Oregon Short Line and the Oregon-Washington RR & Navigation Co . They were placed under the joint management of EH Harriman in 1902 . The group was dissolved by a court decision in 1913, but many bridges, wagons and locomotives were built according to the Common Standard for the five railway companies during this period . The locomotives weighed 150 to 300 tons and were designed for heavy goods traffic on steep routes.
Baldwin Mikado # 35 of the PALCO / HVRX (1923)
The Pacific Lumber # 35 was built in October 1923 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) in Scotia, California near Eureka, California . With its wheel arrangement 2-8-2 ( Mikado ) and a weight of 81 tons, this was a classic heavyweight Waldeisenbahn -Lokomotive with which the Pacific Lumber Company Redwood - Sequoia trunks brought to the sawmill in Scotia. After it was decommissioned in the mid-1960s, it was sold to private individuals who stored it in their old home in Scotia. The locomotive was sold to the Promontory Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1971 and brought to Heber City, Utah . In 1972 she was sold to the Wasatch Railroad & Museum Foundation and used on the Heber Creeper Scenic Railroad (HVRX) until 1970 . In the early 1980s, the # 35 was decommissioned and stored until 1993 when it was sold to the Nevada State Railroad Museum and taken to Boulder City.
Standard gauge diesel locomotives
30-tonne Davenport of the US Bureau of Reclamation (1936)
In 1936, the United States Bureau of Reclamation bought the 30-ton, 250-horsepower gasoline mechanical locomotive from the Davenport Locomotive Works . It was used from 1931 to 1962 on the 16 km long route from Boulder City to the edge of Black Canyon above Hoover Dam . It was used regularly to transport supplies and building materials to the dam construction site and was in operation until the line was closed in the early 1960s.
Fairbanks-Morse Model H12-44 # 1855 of the US Army Transportation Corps (1953)
The 1200 hp H12-44 diesel locomotive was built by Fairbanks-Morse & Company (FM) in 1953 as one of 20 locomotives for the US Army Transportation Corps that were used in several Army depots. It was delivered to the Sierra Ordnance Depot in Herlong, California . It is almost 15 m long and weighs about 113 tons. The manufacturing company was founded in 1832 and later diversified into the manufacture of pumps, motors and other machines. From 1939 to 1958 she built railroad locomotives with a counter-rotating piston drive, which was originally developed for ship and submarine drives.
25-tonne GE L-2 from Jackass & Western
The 25-ton General Electric -Diesellokomotive was originally in the 1960s in the Nevada Test Site used nuclear-powered transport rocket engines. When the program ended, the locomotive was mothballed. After the radioactive contamination subsided to a safe level, it was bequeathed to the museum. On November 11, 2010, she was delivered to the museum on a lowboy trailer. It was spectacularly derailed on March 8, 1968, a cold and foggy day, as follows: its engine driver and the brakeman wanted a loaded flat car from the Reactor Maintenance / Assembly Disassembly (R-MAD) building to the building called Engine Maintenance / Bring assembly disassembly (E-MAD) . The flat car was loaded with two transport containers and the associated lifting gear. Each shipping container weighed about 20 tons and the hoist weighed 1.6 tons. After a distance of about 5.5 km, the engine driver carried out the final brake test before driving down the slope to the E-MAD building. When the train went on unexpectedly, the brakeman applied the mechanical emergency brake manually without success. He looked at the wheels and saw sparks. Instead of slowing down, the train accelerated. The engine driver radioed an emergency call to the control center in the E-MAD building. After several unsuccessful attempts, an employee in the E-MAD Master Control Room heard the emergency call and instructed the crew of the locomotive to jump out. The engine driver gave a final radio message to E-MAD, instructing them to close the large gate and get all personnel out of the way. He and the brakeman then jumped off the runaway train . The train was moving at excessive speed towards the E-MAD building. At the same time, another locomotive left the E-MAD building on the same track, so that a frontal accident was imminent. The crew of this locomotive were also instructed to leave the locomotive. The staff in the E-MAD Master Control Room then deliberately set a switch a few hundred meters in front of the E-MAD building with the aim of derailing the runaway train . When the runaway train came to the switch, the locomotive tipped over and came to rest, rotated 180 ° against the direction of travel. A meticulous examination of the runaway train's wheels showed that all four wheels had flats at one point, which occurred when the brakes locked. About 60 m of track then had to be replaced. The two transport containers showed only superficial damage, which led one of the experts to the following statement: "Overall, it looks more like a test of the railroad tracks than the transport container." The final report of the investigation concluded that the accident was caused by a load that was too heavy for the locomotive. Lubricants and moisture on the rails, the lack of a sanding system on the locomotive and the lack of brakes on the flat car were other factors in the accident. The engine driver had no significant injuries and the brakeman suffered a light cut on his head with abrasions on his arms and right hand. The brakeman was taken to Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital for further investigation and the engine driver released to normal work that afternoon. The brakeman began his normal duty on the next working day.
80-tonner GE L-3 of Jackass & Western (1953)
The diesel-electric locomotive with 500 hp and a weight of 73 tons was built in 1953 by the General Electric Company. It initially served a US Naval Facility before being refurbished and moved to the Nevada Test Site in 1964 . There it was used to transport nuclear powered rocket drives to various test stands. The nuclear missile program began in 1955 when the Atomic Energy Commission and the US Air Force began conducting various studies of thermal reactors for the first construction of a prototype missile. During the 1960s and 70s, the US government built several missile development stations in Area 25 and connected them with its own railroad tracks in order to ensure the easy transport of missile drives from one test station to the next on the extensive site. The name Jackass and Western, which is painted on the side of the locomotive, comes from the geographic location of Area 25 . The Jackass Flats are a flat area on the Nevada Test Site, as is the Frenchman Flats and Yucca Flats , where most nuclear tests were conducted until the 20th century. The Jackas and Western Railroad offered chartered joint transportation services until the US Government abandoned the nuclear missile propulsion program in the 1980s so the locomotive was no longer needed and was put into storage. It was acquired by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 2006. In the National Atomic Testing Museum in the 755 E Flamingo Road Las Vegas, there is a model of Jackass and Western Railroad . There were only a few tracks on the building used for assembly. The short length of track and the short duration of the program resulted in the locomotive traveling only eight miles after being refurbished for use at the Nevada Test Site.
Type NW-2 # 1000 of the UPRR (1939)
The # 1000 locomotive (originally # 889) was built by Electro-Motive Corporation in 1939. It was originally a demonstration locomotive for the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) as a new class of shunting locomotives. The new demonstration locomotive with 1,000 hp was tested very successfully over a period of 6 months. This led to the UPRR buying the locomotive and giving it the number 1000. It was the first diesel-electric locomotive to be acquired by the Union Pacific. In the following two years the UPRR ordered 44 new locomotives of the type NW-2. They were used on the entire UPRR system until 1966, but after that the UPRR began to decommission the first units. Shortly thereafter, it was sold to the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad (ST&E) in Stockton, California , where it kept its original UPRR number. In 1968 ST&E sold the locomotive to the Western Pacific Railroad , where it was completely overhauled and equipped with a 1200 hp EMC 567 12-cylinder engine at a service weight of 114 tons. It was then given the number 607. It is 13.54 m long and has a top speed of 97 km / h. After it was put back into service in 1969 by the WPRR, it was sold to Sacramento Northern , a subsidiary of the WPRR, in 1973 and mainly used at the WPRR's Stockton Yard. Ironically, the locomotive returned to the UPRR in 1982 through the merger of the WPRR and UPRR, after which it was restored to its original number 1000. The UPRR later donated the locomotive to the Deer Creek Scenic Railway in Heber City, Utah in 1984 . sei was finally acquired by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1993 and brought to Boulder City in 1993. At a later date it will be repainted from the current blue color scheme to the original black color scheme of the UPRR.
Standard gauge wagons
Post and baggage car # 2314 of the OSL (1911)
The Mail and Baggage Car # 2314 was built in 1911 by the Pullman Car Company and was used by the Oregon Short Line (OSL), a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad . In 1941 it was modernized to its present-day condition and was in operation until the late 1950s. After it was decommissioned, it was bequeathed to the Sons of the Utah Pioneers . He was brought to Heber City, Utah in 1981 . Eventually it was acquired by the Nevada State Railroad Museum and brought to Boulder City in 1993. On the side there is a hook for mail on-the-fly , through which mail bags could be picked up by a crane while driving. Before the train went through a suitably equipped station, a clerk prepared the tentacle, which then caught the incoming mailbag while the train was in full swing. The clerk then threw the outgoing mailbag on the platform. Experienced employees spoke with pride that at night they could only carry out the upcoming mailbag exchange through the curves and the feeling for the route.
Caboose # 3505 of the OWR & N (1882)
Oregon Washington Railroad & Navigation Company's (OWR & N) pre- Harriman Non-Common Standard Class Caboose # 3505 was built in the OWR & N workshops in The Dalles (Oregon) in August 1882 . It was used by the OWR & N's railroad after it merged with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), in 1910. The # 3505 (until 1918 it was number 206) was commissioned by the Union Pacific before the Harriman era and before the introduction of the Associated Lines Common CA Class Design. It is a classic example of wooden cabooses that were in regular use in North America until the 1930s when they were replaced by steel cabooses. After it was decommissioned by the Union Pacific Railroad in January 1962, this caboose came to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah . In 1970 it was given to the Wasatch Railway Museum & Foundation in Heber City, Utah . Eventually it was acquired by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1993 and brought to Boulder City.
Hard Top Open Air Car (1914)
The hard top open air car has a heavy construction. It has three axles in each bogie instead of the usual two. To ensure passenger for a good suspension, the car floor with several centimeters was concrete - screed poured out. The car was built in 1914 as a passenger car and later converted as a workers car for the maintenance of the tracks. It was used by the Union Pacific . The windows of the car were removed before it was used for excursions. The benches are installed lengthways in the middle. The large openings offer a good view of the terrain next to the track and are particularly appreciated by photographers. Further modifications are planned because this type of car is very popular with tourists.
Wheelchair accessible car # 604 (1916)
The Harriman- style passenger car was built in 1916. It was rebuilt by the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum so that wheelchair users can use the train via a lift through the side doors. There is also a toilet with a sink.
Head End Power (HEP) Car
The Head End Power Car is a generator car. It was built because the locomotives of the Nevada Southern Railroad were built as shunting and freight locomotives and therefore did not produce enough electricity for the lighting, air conditioning and speaker systems of the passenger cars. The Head End Power Car was originally a closed freight car in which two diesel generators were installed, each generating 200 kW three-phase alternating current with 480 volts.
Narrow-gauge steam locomotives, 914 mm
Baldwin narrow-gauge steam locomotive of the E & PRR
The Eureka & Palisade Railroad (E & PRR) Narrow Gauge Steam Locomotive Baldwin was a static exhibit in a casino in Nevada. The slogan "Good Luck! Inn & Casino" is therefore painted on the left. It was handed over to the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum when its external appearance had already been affected by the weather conditions. Surprisingly, however, the boiler is in good condition so that it can be restored to an operational condition.
Narrow gauge wagon, 914 mm (3 feet)
Replica of a narrow-gauge passenger and baggage car, Elsa.
The replica of a narrow gauge passenger and baggage car is being built by Dan Markoff, best known for restoring the 4-4-0 Eureka narrow gauge dam locomotive No. 4 of the Eureka and Palisade Railroad . After its restoration, he devoted himself to the creation of a replica of a flat car in 1991 and then from 1994 to the manufacture of this narrow-gauge passenger and baggage car. With the exception of the wheels, the car is built from scratch. After 23 years, it is scheduled to go into operation on a Tuesday, but it is not yet clear which one.
Replica of a narrow-gauge flat car
A replica of a narrow gauge flat car was built by Dan Markoff to carry passengers when he demonstrates his Eureka narrow gauge steam locomotive in Boulder City.
Wooden car bodies from two narrow-gauge passenger cars (1876)
The wooden car bodies of two narrow-gauge passenger cars of the Eureka & Palisade Railroad were formerly on display in front of a casino in Nevada and are currently stored at the top of the triangular track on the grounds of the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum. One of these is the model for Dan Markoff's replica of the narrow-gauge passenger and baggage car from 1876. It is planned to clear the interior of the car from pigeon droppings and to stiffen them with additional boards. In the long term, they are to be exhibited in a planned new museum building on the same track as the replica.
Other exhibits
| description | photo | Gauge | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draisine |  |
1435 mm | Draisine with which visitors can be brought to the storage area at the top of the Gleisdreieck |
| Draisine |  |
1435 mm | Draisine |
| Ford F 250 Custom |  |
1435 mm | Ford F 250 Custom road / rail vehicle |
| Soft top open air car |  |
1435 mm | Summer excursion car |
| Gravel distributor |  |
1435 mm | Gravel distributor from 1844 |
| Wooden balcony cart |  |
1435 mm | wooden passenger carriage with balcony at one end |
| Steel Caboose WP 449 |  |
1435 mm | Steel caboose from the Union Pacific . It was painted yellow with extreme lovelessness after it was taken over by the Union Pacific . |
| crane |  |
1435 mm | old crane |
| Construction trailer |  |
1435 mm | old construction trailer |
| Construction trailer |  |
1435 mm | old construction trailer |
| yellow freight wagon |  |
1435 mm | yellow freight wagon |
| Nobleman |  |
1435 mm | Mothballed passenger car of the Red Carpet Line from 1844 |
7½ inch garden railroad
The museum's 160 volunteers operate a garden railway with a track width of 7½ inches (190.5 mm) on the site . On the second and fourth Saturday of every month, with the exception of the extremely hot summer months of July and August, they offer tours on the extensive tracks. The trains are on a 1: 8 scale and offer sufficient space for children and adults. The track plan is constantly being expanded.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Margo Bartlett Pesek: TRIP OF THE WEEK: Railroad structures interesting remnants of Nevada's past . In: Review Journal . Retrieved March 2, 2008.
- ^ Nevada State Railroad Museum and the operation of the Nevada Southern Railway . Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ↑ Locomotive 844, Type GP-30.
- ↑ Steam Locomotive No. 844 . Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Display board at the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum
- ↑ NSRM # 6246 Steam.
- ↑ Davenport.
- ↑ Locomotive L-2, GE-25 Ton
- ↑ Locomotive L-3, GE 80 Ton.
- ↑ Hard Top Open Air Car.
- ^ ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Wheelchair Accessible Car.
- ^ Head End Power (HEP) Car.
Coordinates: 35 ° 58 ′ 13 ″ N , 114 ° 51 ′ 24 ″ W.