I teamed with a friend on an Electra Glide to ride to Ely, Nevada (a round trip of 240 miles) to renew my license. My S3 was decked with a Nelson-Riggs tail bag carrying water and essential repair items. The trip was uneventful and the miles passed easily. We set our speed at 70 mph to Ely to conserve fuel (56 mpg) and returned home at a more enjoyable speed of 85 mph (45 mpg). The two-lane road makes for great side-by-side riding and there is very little traffic. (We saw neither highway patrol cars nor county constabulary.)
Our goal for the day, in addition to renewing my license, was to check out the Northern Nevada Railroad Museum. What a wonderful, amazing place!
A little history...
The Northern Nevada Railroad was developed to haul copper ore and passengers from the open-pit copper mine in Ruth, Nevada (7 miles West of Ely) to the smelter in McGill, Nevada (20 miles North East of Ely). From McGill, the railroad went North to Wells, Nevada where it joined the Southern Pacific RR. Copper mining in Ely goes back to the late 1800s.
In 1983, the mine, railroad, and smelter closed. A visionary city council woman approached the company and asked if the City of Ely could acquire the railroad yard, trains, and buildings as they stood. The company, recognizing the damage its leaving would do to the local economy, agreed. An oversight committee was formed, agreements struck, and Ely owned a railroad.
Since then, the city has worked hard to take inventory and develop a plan to sustain and grow the museum. It is finally "on track" to make a go of things. What is truly amazing is that this out-of-the way railroad yard was conceded without destroying the collection. The mining company moved out and the city moved in. All records were preserved. In my opinion, this is the most substantive example of a rail yard extant in the United States.
I wandered freely with my camera, taking pictures of 4 steam engines, 4 period diesel locomotives, passenger and freight cars, a crane, the blacksmith shop, metal-working shops, carpentry shop, boiler room, mechanic shop, and an all-cement coal tower and beside it, a riveted all-metal water tower. There are many buildings I didn't explore and much to learn of railroading. I wish I had taken 2 days to renew my license.
The East Ely station is going through renovation, but visitors are encouraged to tour everywhere. Volunteers greet visitors without suspicion and there is an air of real-time that exists in no other museum I have ever visited. It isn't so much a museum as it is a changing of the guard.
There are a number of trains that leave the East Ely Station on a regular schedule. You can choose trips to Ruth or McGill on steam or diesel. The Ghost Train of Old Ely is a favorite. Check the Internet at:
http://www.northernnevadarailway.net
Up the street from the station is the brand new R & P BBQ Express (Try the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and potato salad.) and the Steptoe Valley Inn. The Express offers the best BBQ I've had since the Tin Shed in Natchitoches, Louisiana and the Steptoe offers 2nd-story rooms with individual balconies. Both buildings are pristine examples of western false-front architecture.
Over two mountain ranges to the East you will find the Great Basin National Park. Make sure to ride to the upper campground, passing through the various biomes. Park at the topmost campsite and hike to the Bristlecone forest and then on to the only permanent glacier in the lower 48 states. Warning: you will be hiking above 10,000 feet for about 3 miles one-way!
Ely has a Ford, Suzuki, Yamaha dealership and a custom motorcycle shop. Locals say the mechanic at the custom shop is a wizard with bikes.
I have been driving through Ely for 25 years. Now I have a reason to drive to and stay at Ely. Enjoy!
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