Nevada Southern Railroad Museum, Boulder City, NV

Wanting to get out of the house and take the grandbaby somewhere she's never been before, we opted for a trip to Boulder City, NV. She likes Opa's toy trains and I thought she might like seeing the real stuff up close but she ended up napping during most of the ride (about an hour) and woke up a tad bit on the crabby side. Her first words when she saw the trains was "They're BIG". Yes baby, they are :-)  Although we had time to board the next train ride we just felt she wouldn't be interested in it and you know, once you're on that train there ain't no goin' back! Soooo, while Oma Bettina was changing the baby's Pull-ups in the ladies room I snapped a few pics, and then snapped a few more on the way to the car. It was cool to see many staffers/volunteers dressed in Halloween costumes (although I didn't get any pics) and even the engine was a bit fixed up for the season. The museum here isn't all that big, but it's nice and they do make regular runs with their passenger train on weekends for a very reasonable price. You can find out more at their site the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum, Boulder City, NV.  So for you train lovers out there - Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Trip to Sparks, Nevada - Pt 5 Nevada State Railroad Museum 2

Continuing our look at the Nevada State Railroad Museum we go inside the main hall called the Jacobsen Interpretive Center. It is here that one of the main jewels of the collection is on display, The Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railroad #22 Inyo, a 4-4-0 American-style steam locomotive and Hollywood star. This engine was seen on the big screen and little screen in ca29 productions from The Harvey Girls, Meet Me in St. Louis, McClintock, and the television series Wild, Wild, West. It is a gorgeously appointed engine and beautifully restored. I grew up looking at books showing engravings of engines from the 1800s and they were stunning works of art on wheels. It must have been wonderful to see many of these kinds of engines running the rails. We'll try to show as much of we can of the Inyo and other displays in post and hope you - Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

As you walk down into the hall the first thing you see is a small Thomas The Tank engine layout for the little ones to play with...

Just a couple feet away is this quirky little engine

Next up is the V&T Boxcar No. 1005

To the right of the boxcar are some displays showing Nevada's mining history

Behind the boxcar along the wall is this large model

In the middle of hall is a display of quite a few beautifully made models of early locomotives (the Inyo is peeking out in the rear nestled along the back wall)

This beautifully restored V&T Coach No. 4 is to the right as you walk down the hall

 Behind the Inyo is V&T steam engine No. 27

The Joe Douglass narrow gauge mining engine sits at the very back of the hall

Last but not least the star of the show, the Inyo