"At
The Throttle"
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Mark
Bassett is the Executive Director of the White Pine Historical Railroad
Foundation, operator of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. He can be
reached at the museum (775) 289-2085 ext. 7 or e-mail: director@nnry.com
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Projects and Accomplishments
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I was speaking with a visitor to the museum the other day and he asked a simple question: what projects are we working on? Then I started to rattle off all of the projects that we have going on and what we have accomplished in the past year. The three critical projects are the Engine House and Machine Shop Building; the rehabilitation of the McGill Depot and bringing the tracks back to the depot; and to bring Locomotive 40 back into service. The biggest project is the restoration the Engine House and Machine Shop building. This is the largest structure on the property and is the heart of our operation. We store the majority of the Nevada Northern Railway Collection in the Engine House and maintain the collection in the Machine Shop. Recently, we have invested over $163,000 in the building and this is just scratching the surface. To maintain structural integrity of the building will probably cost another $650,000. The museum received a $200,000 grant from the State of Nevada this year to start the process of building stabilization. That leaves only $450,000 more to go. Additional grants have been written to the State of Nevada and to Save America’s Treasures for the difference. The McGill Depot is falling down. The roof in the southeast corner has collapsed and is forcing the blocks in the east wall and south wall out. This puts the entire southeast corner in serious danger of suffering a catastrophic collapse. The museum is engaged in making emergency repairs to stabilize that corner. The McGill Depot is critical to the museum for a variety of reasons. The structure is a unique building and it is important to save it for future generations. Estimated costs to stabilize the structure are $330,000. This does not include remodeling the structure for public use. A grant request has been written to State of Nevada for that amount. The saving of the structure will give the excursion trips to McGill a destination as the trains pull into the depot once again. The depot can serve as a museum for the community and tell the story of McGill. It can also serve as exhibit space. The successful completion of bringing trains back to McGill can start as a catalyst for economic development in the community. Locomotive 40 is the crown jewel in the Nevada Northern collection. It has been sidelined for almost two years now, waiting for funds for a boiler rebuild as required by the Federal Railroad Administration. This high stepping engine was pulling passenger trains since her arrival in Ely over ninety-three years ago. Estimated costs for repairs are budgeted at $50,000 depending what is found once the locomotive is torn down. To raise this money, the museum will be starting the Project 40 fund in the near future. The Engine House and Machine Shop Building, The McGill Depot and Locomotive are the big three projects that the museum has tackled as on going projects. In addition we’ve been working on smaller projects such as:
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All in all it has
been a very successful year at the museum. We will build on these successes
as we prepare for the Nevada Northern Centennial starting in 2005, come
join us.
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Call Us 1-866-40STEAM or 1-866-407-8326 Copyright © 2003 Nevada Northern
Railway - Ely, Nevada |