Nevada Northern Railway Museum

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada, is one of the most extraordinary and complete surviving short-line railroad complexes in the United States — a National Historic Landmark preserving the entire operating infrastructure of a working turn-of-the-century copper mining railroad, including the original 1906 depot, locomotive shop, machine shop, car shop, coal storage facilities, turntable, and a fleet of historic steam and diesel locomotives in various states of preservation and operation. The Nevada Northern was built in 1906 to serve the Kennecott copper mining operations in White Pine County, and operated continuously until 1983, when the mines shut down and the railroad was sold intact to White Pine County. Because the entire property was preserved in place rather than scrapped, the museum represents the most complete surviving example of an early 20th-century short-line railroad complex anywhere in North America. Visitors can explore the historic depot, machine shop, and yard, and ride excursion trains through the remote basin-and-range landscape of eastern Nevada behind the museum’s operational steam and diesel locomotives. The popular “Engineer for a Day” program allows guests to operate a historic locomotive under professional supervision — one of the most immersive heritage railroad experiences available anywhere. The stark beauty of the surrounding Great Basin landscape adds a dramatic backdrop to an already extraordinary heritage experience.