UPDATE: Out of an abundance of caution, the steam trains will not run at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City for Labor Day weekend due to unhealthful air quality, museum officials announced Thursday.
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Climb aboard and take a 30-minute train ride back in time this holiday weekend in Carson City, where the labor of the day was cast in hot iron grit and the Old West churned and turned the wheels of locomotive steam engines along the Virginia and Truckee Railroad line.
Enjoy unlimited rides on trains operated by the 1905 Steam Locomotive No. 25 over the Labor Day weekend and celebrate the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City with a photo exhibit.
The historic Virginia and Truckee train will carry passengers on 30-minute trips departing every 45 minutes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday through Monday, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2. All-inclusive daily tickets offer access to trains, all exhibits and admission to the museum’s Jacobsen Interpretive Center, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Outdoor exhibits will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special pricing for the holiday event allows guests to buy one ticket for the entire day. Adult tickets are $15; children 12 to 17 are $8, and ages 4 to 11 are $4. Children under 3 are free. Members receive discounts. Trains leave from, and return to, the Wabuska Depot, 2180 S. Carson St. in Carson City.
The museum also will present the visually remarkable photo exhibit “Steam: An Enduring Legacy, the Railroad Photographs of Joel Jensen” in collaboration with the Center for Railroad Photography & Art based in Madison, Wis. Its 25 dramatic black-and-white images evoke the immense mechanical power of locomotives and demonstrate the human component needed to keep the trains operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“This is a wonderful addition to the weekend festivities at the museum. The art captures the heart and spirit of historic and operating railroads across the U.S. The fact that the artist is from Ely is a bonus,” said Frank Ackerman, Nevada State Railroad Museum Carson City director. “These images are beautifully captured and displayed, and exhibiting them in the authentic depot environment is really a rare treasure for Nevada.”
The Ely artist’s dramatic photographs depict the spirit of American railroading throughout the West. They will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Wabuska Depot.
For information, call (775) 687-6953 or go here.