We walked into the station and in the second room we found Jim Wrinn, editor of Trains Magazine and talked to him for a while. Elizabeth checked us in as I told Jim about our trip. She returned and a few minutes later we all walked outside and waited for our safety meeting.
Welcome to the Trains 81 CelebrationI would like to welcome you to the Nevada Northern Railway National Historic Landmark! National Historic Landmark status is the highest honour the federal government can bestow on a historic property. Designated by the Secretary of the Interior, it recognizes nationally-significant historic places of exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. During your time here you will understand why the railroad was so honoured.
This weekend we are celebrating Trains Magazine's 81st anniversary and the return of Nevada Northern Railway Locomotive 81! Locomotive 81, a 2-8-0, was ordered by the Nevada Northern Railway in late 1916 and was delivered here in April 1917 from Baldwin Locomotive Works. Her job was to haul the freight trains from Ely to Cobre, our connection with the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1958, she was retired and donated to the community; it was thought she would never run again. Surprise, she made her first run up the hill on September 19, 2021.
When Locomotive 81 was delivered, she was delivered in Baldwin's green and aluminum paint scheme. Today her boiler jacket, air pump wrappers and cylinder covers are green once again. Joining Locomotive 81 this weekend will be Locomotive 93, our other 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
Nevada Northern Railway HistoryThe Nevada Northern owes its beginnings to the discovery and development of large porphyry copper deposits near Ely early in the 20th century. Two of the region's largest mines (including the Robinson Mine) were purchased in 1902 by Mark Requa, president of the Eureka & Palisade Railroad in central Nevada. Requa then organized the White Pine Copper Company to develop his new properties, and it soon became evident that rail access to the isolated region would be essential to fully exploit the potential of the mines. Originally plans called for extending the narrow-gauge Eureka and Palisade Railroad, which Requa was president of, effectively doubling the length of that line. Subsequent surveys indicated that a standard gauge railroad would be the most cost effective and that the most practical route for such a railroad was northward from Ely, connecting with the Southern Pacific somewhere in the vicinity of Wells.
The Ely-area copper properties were further merged in 1904, forming the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, and the Nevada Northern Railway was incorporated on June 1, 1905, to build a line connecting the Nevada Consolidated mines and smelter to the national rail network. The task of building the new railroad was contracted to the Utah Construction Company, which began work on September 11, 1905. Construction began at Cobre, where the Nevada Northern connected with the Southern Pacific and proceeded southward. The line was finished a year later, its completion marked by a two-day celebration in Ely. The railroad's symbolic final spike—made of local copper—was driven by Requa in Ely on September 29, 1906, which was designated as Railroad Day. To celebrate the new railway, a ball was held inside the Northern building, which was still under construction at the time.
Additional Ely-area trackage was constructed in 1907–1908 to serve the local mining industry. This trackage, known as the "Ore Line", included a route bypassing Ely to the north and continuing west up Robinson Canyon to the copper mines at Ruth. East of Ely, the Ore Line project saw the construction of the "Hiline", a branch leading to Nevada Consolidated's new copper smelter and concentrator at McGill. The Ore Line immediately became the busiest segment of the Nevada Northern by far, hosting dozens of loaded and empty ore trains daily.
As a subsidiary of Nevada Consolidated, the primary purpose of the Nevada Northern throughout its history was the haulage of copper ores and products. Other freight traffic was also carried, and the railroad operated the daily Steptoe Flyer passenger train between East Ely and Cobre until July 31, 1941, when it was replaced by bus service. Local trains were also operated from Ely to Ruth and McGill for the benefit of mine employees and others until the 1930's, and special school trains carried students to White Pine High School in central Ely.
A series of corporate financial transactions in the 1920's and 1930's brought Nevada Consolidated under the control of the Kennecott Copper Corporation and Nevada Consolidated was merged into Kennecott in 1942. The Nevada Northern thus became a Kennecott subsidiary. Faced with declining ore reserves and low copper prices, Kennecott closed its Ruth-area mines in May 1978, thus ending the ore trains between Ruth and the McGill smelter. The smelter closed on June 20, 1983 and the Nevada Northern suspended all operations immediately thereafter.
Citizens of the town concerned with the economic impacts of the loss of mining and the railroad approached Kennecott with the intent to acquire the railroad and open it as a tourist operation. Though a series of donations, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum was formed and is situated at the East Ely Yards. The site is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places as the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops. The rail yards were designated a National Historic Landmark District on September 27, 2006 and was cited as one of the best-preserved early 20th-century railroad yards in the nation, and a key component in the growth of the region's copper mining industry. The property came complete with all of the company records of the Nevada Northern from its inception.
The Photo CharterMark Bassett, President of the Nevada Northern Railway, called everyone together and started the safety briefing.
Mark giving the safety briefing, with Ben, Jen and Steve Crise who were in charge of the night photo session. We then walked toward the shops for a steam crane demonstration.
Nevada Northern Wrecking Crane A built by Industrial Works in 1907.
Nevada Mines Division RS-2 105 built by Alco in 1945 for the Kennecott Copper Corporation (successor to the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company).
The steam crane and the wrecker outfit car A1. The steam crane would re-rail ore car 1082 which was derailed for this demonstration.
The steam crane has re-railed Nevada Northern ore car 1082, nee Ray and Gila Valley Railroad 1082, built by Pullman Company in 1911. Now the crane would spin 360 degrees.
The steam crane completed its 360 degree turn.
The view inside the shop building.
Nevada Northern Outfit Car 06, nee Grand Trunk 06, built by Pullman in 1872. We all moved across the tracks for our photo runby.
Photo runby one with Nevada Northern 81. The train had Nevada Northern 2-8-0 81, ore cars 402 and 400, box cars 1024, 1025, 1021 and 1023 and caboose 3.
Reverse move one.
Photo runby two with Nevada Northern 81.
Photo runby three with Nevada Northern 81.
Photo runby four with Nevada Northern 81.
Ontario Northland coach 80xx built in the 1930s.
Photo runby five with Nevada Northern 81.
Photo runby six with Nevada Northern 81.
Reverse move with Nevada Northern 81.
Photo runby seven with Nevada Northern 81. We led the way to the walk to the depot.
Nevada Northern 81 near the East Ely station.
Nevada Northern 81 builders plate.
The front of the steam engine. We led the way to the wig-wag crossing and set up for the next series of photo runbys.
The wig-wag crossing was activated.
The reverse move with Nevada Northern 81.
Nevada Northern 2-8-0 93 returned from Keystone.
Nevada Northern 2-8-0 81 and Nevada Northern 2-8-0 93 in the same scene.
Next a Nevada Northern Company 1957 Pontaic station wagon would be used in the photo runbys.
Photo runby nine with Nevada Northern 81.
Nevada Northern Company Pontiac station wagon crossed the tracks and turned around.
It then stopped at the railroad crossing.
Reverse move with Nevada Northern 81.
The station wagon crossed the tracks and turned around.
Photo runby ten with Nevada Northern 81.
Photo runby eleven with Nevada Northern 93.
Reverse move with Nevada Northern 81.
Static photo Nevada Northern 81 and Nevada Northern 93.
Static photo with Nevada Northern 81, Nevada Northern 93 and Nevada Northern Company station wagon at the wig-wag crossing. The rain started so we called off the event. Elizabeth and I had our umbrellas so that is how we took these photographs. We checked into the Holiday Inn Express and received a room on the top floor (fourth) overlooking Ely. I checked e-mail then wrote most of the pre-event story from this morning. We drove over to the freight house and had a good dinner. Mark then told us about two locomotives they are trying to return to East Ely (201 and 401) and had other interesting stories to tell. We returned to the room where I finished the pre-trip and the wrote this story. Elizabeth watched television and we called it a night.
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