I participated in Nevada Northern's Railway Reality Week from August 18th through August 25th and had a blast!!. Here are some photos of the action.
We arrived Friday afternoon after a 3 1/2 hour drive from Salt Lake City. Upon checking in we were given passes on the afternoon Keystone Branch excursion train and the Star train later in the evening. Week participants were seated in the Cupola of Kennecott caboose #22 located directed behind locomotive #204 (a former Southern Pacific EMD SD-9). The Star train went in the opposite direction on the Hi Line where telescopes were set up in a remote area for star gazing. Nation Park Rangers were there as guides. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative with increasing cloud cover due to hurricane Hillary several hundred miles south of here. Here are some pictures from the first day.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in class and in the yard studying the Book of Rules. Being inside was good because the weather kept getting worse. I am proud to say that I scored a 87 of the Rules exam. The real fun starts on Monday when we will work in the yard. I was not prepared for wet weather I had to buy some rain gear.
On Monday, 3 of us spent time in the yard as switchmen, coupling and uncoupling cars, connecting air hoses and throwing switches using hand signals only, all under the watchful eye of Trainmaster Conn Trumbull and one of the brakeman. We rotated with two on the ground and one in the engineer's seat on #204. To add to the realism and provide an authentic railroad experience, it rained for most of the day.
At the end of the day, we bedded #204 (former SP SD-9) down next to #105 (Kennicott Alco RS-3) in the engine house.
Tuesday, we took a road trip to see the other two remaining depots on the line at McGill and Currie.
While only the trackage right around Ely is in service and used, the rail is in place over the entire route to Shafter at the Union Pacific (former Western Pacific) interchange. Originally the line when to Cobre to interchange with the Southern Pacific on the original Transcontinental Railroad. There is some push to to reconnect Ely and the mines to the rest of the national rail system for freight service but that may be a pipe dream. It would require completely rebuilding some 130 miles of track with new ballast, ties and rail. The NN does have a grant to rebuild the High Line branch all the way to the McGill depot, where the smelter was located.
Wednesday was time to get down and dirty in the engine house. We helped replace some superheater tubes in the boiler and removed the throttle value from 4-6-0 engine # 93, an Alco Pittsburgh Works product from 1909. We also helped to clean the radiator and engine floor of a Baldwin diesel switch engine #801.
Around the shop:
Thursday was spent with the Track Department. In the morning, we high-railed the Keystone Branch with the Track Inspector. We were going to do a round trip but a thunder storm came up so it was best to return on US 50 on our rubber tires. After the storm blew over and lunch, we returned to the wye at the end of the Keystone Branch to replace a rail.
We ended up Friday on a high note. We coupled up a train of three empty ballast cars and a caboose and then took turns running the train up the Keystone Branch and back under the close supervision of one of the senior engineers. It was just us with no paying passengers. The first trip we used the Alco # 105 but it had some problems with the brakes so we changed it out for SD-9 #204. It was easy maintaining the 10 MPH speed limit going up the hill. Coming down was another story. NN Rwy rules require the use of the train brakes to slow down. Using the engine brake by itself to slow the train is not allowed. Finding the sweet spot in setting and releasing the air without stopping the train was not easy.
We ended the week with one more trip up to Keystone in the caboose enjoying pizza from a local restaurant. We could have also gone on the Friday night star train but I was worn out, needed to pack and was facing a 5am wake up call for the ride back to Salt Lake City. All in all, I would highly recommend this experience. It is a great opportunity to get up close, hear the noise, smell the smells, feel the rumble and do some of the work railroaders have done for almost two centuries.
Around the yard:
