Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, NV

The railroad played an important part in the development of Carson City, Nevada and was also responsible for its decline. When the Virginian & Truckee Railroad track was built it really opened up Carson City, which is the state capitol. However, when the Southern Pacific Railroad put a line through Donner Pass it went farther north than Carson City so the visitors to the city slowed down considerably. In honor of the railroads roll in Carson City there is a Nevada State Railroad Museum.

The museum is located at 2180 S. Carson St. and it is only open Fridays through Mondays. The hours of operation are from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and it is closed on Christmas and New Year's Day. The admission fee is four dollars for Adults, three dollars for Seniors, with Children and Friends of the Museum free. The museum will offer monthly evening programs so visitors that are interested should call 775-687-6953 for information.

There are motor car and steam train's rides available. The 1926 Edwards Motorcar No. 401 runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and generally runs every thirty minutes. The fare for the motorcar is Adults: four dollars, Seniors: three dollars, Friends of the Museum: two dollars, Children (6-11): two dollars and Children under five: free. The steam train keeps the same hours with a special Santa Train in mid December.

Volunteers run the museum with some of them being paid to do so and others just for the joy of it. They become engineers of the steam train, are part of the steam train crew, and give tours. Volunteers also sell tickets or work at the museum store.

For train enthusiasts there is a HO model railroad at the museum that has been built entirely by the volunteers. It is on permanent exhibit at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. The model railroad shows the progression of the railroad from the beginning days to the twentieth century. Besides showing the technology of the railroad industry it also shows the impact the railroad had on the state, economically speaking.

The Friends of the Museum and many other volunteers operate the trains when the museum is open on the weekends. They are also present for any group tours that may be coming to the museum. If there are no volunteers to run the trains they have installed a push button so that visitors to the museum can run the train on demand.

There is an opportunity for railroad enthusiasts of all ages to ride in the cab of the Steam train. Only two individuals may ride in the cab at one time and they must be at least six years old. Children must ride with an adult. The cost of the steam train cab ride is twenty five dollars.

Guests taking a ride on the 1926 Motorcar travel around the museum grounds for a length of fifteen minutes. The Motorcar is run by diesel power. Anyone that enjoys railroads will find the Nevada State Railroad Museum a great place.