RonnieAdventure #0024 - Nevada Northern Railway & Hiwy 318, White Pine Co., Nevada

Traveling to Ely, Nevada, is always an adventure because there is nothing close to Ely. Most of the lands in White Pine County are under Federal control, so developments are far and few between. Consequently, even though it is a few more miles, many people traveling from Las Vegas to Ely will just stay on US Highway 93 all of the way. While State Route 318 is shorter, it is over 100 miles between gas stations; and then the gas stations at either end may or may not be open. Also, twice a year, Highway 318 is closed for the Sliver State Classic Challenge and the Nevada Open Road Challenge, which are 90 mile road races between Lund and Hiko.

Over the years two people have been killed during the road races, but both of the deaths were before the cars were required to have safety equipment commensurate with speed. Both of these events are now well organized with multiple classes for different driver skill levels and car speeds. (The maximum speeds are 124 MPH for Touring Class, 140 MPH for Grand Touring Class, 165 MPH for Grand Sport Class, 180 MPH for Super Sport Class and any speed for Unlimited Class.) Most of the cars are street legal and driven by people that just have a need for speed. The day before I passed through the area, a new record average speed of over 210 MPH was achieved over the 90 mile course.

Nevada State Route 318 

Arriving in Ely, I stopped by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, which is America’s best preserved short-line railroad and complete rail facility still in existence. The 56-acre complex includes over 70 buildings and structures and the museum collection contains four original steam locomotives, six original diesel locomotives, and over sixty pieces of original rolling stock. The staff that operates the facility is very public-friendly and will allow you to walk around the grounds and shops, ride on the various trains, be the engineer and blow the whistle, and you can even sleep in a caboose, all for a price, of course.

The railroad facility was originally owned by Nevada Consolidated Copper Company and was transferred to Kennecott Copper Company in 1933 when Kennecott acquired Consolidated’s mining operations. When passenger service was discontinued in 1941, Kennecott converted the depot to office space until 1985, when the mine had a temporary shutdown. It was assumed that the shutdown would only last a few weeks, so everything at the facility was left in place. Then, in 1990 it was decided that the facility was never going to reopen, so the State of Nevada acquired the depot for a museum; thus, the completeness of the facility.

East Ely Depot

Rail Facilities

Rail Facilities

Loading Dock

Ore Cars

Passenger Car

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

Diesel Locomotive

"Coming Home"

Switch Yard