About the Nevada State Railroad Museum
The Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City collects, preserves and interprets locomotives, rolling stock, photographs and memorabilia tied to railroading in Nevada, with a particular focus on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad that hauled Comstock Lode ore, bullion, timber and passengers between Virginia City, Carson City and Reno. It opened in 1980 as the Virginia & Truckee Railroad Museum and took its present name in 1985. Much of the early collection came from Hollywood studios, which had bought up V&T equipment for westerns after the railroad's decline. The museum is part of the state's Division of Museums and History and sits beside its sister institution, the Nevada State Museum, in the capital.
What sets the museum apart is that it runs its collection. Select pieces are restored to operating condition and steamed up through the year so visitors can hear and ride the machinery, and the museum maintains an ongoing research and restoration program alongside lectures, an annual railroad history symposium and changing exhibits. The relocated Wabuska depot on the grounds still works as a station where ride tickets are sold.
What to See
- Virginia & Truckee No. 25 — a Baldwin ten-wheeler built in 1905, the first new locomotive the V&T bought after its 1870s boom years, and the museum's operating star.
- The Glenbrook — an 1875 Baldwin narrow-gauge engine built for the Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Company, which carries passengers on scheduled ride days.
- V&T No. 22 Inyo — an 1875 Baldwin and one of the oldest original operating steam locomotives in the country, currently off display for restoration.
- V&T No. 12 Genoa (1873) and No. 21 J. W. Bowker (1875) — on display in the Jacobson Interpretive Center on loan from the California State Railroad Museum.
- McKeen Motor Car No. 22 and the 1926 Tucson, Cornelia & Gila Bend No. 401 Edwards motor car, both in the Annex, plus a communications exhibit on timetables and train orders and the Gibson collection of large-scale V&T models.
Collections and Research Services
The museum's holdings are equipment, photographs and railroad artifacts rather than genealogical records, and it does not advertise a public reading room; researchers interested in a specific locomotive or the V&T's history should contact the museum directly through its website. Family historians tracing railroad workers in Nevada will do better with employee and newspaper records at the Nevada State Museum next door and state archives; our guides to free family history research and using old city directories explain how to find a railroader's occupation and address year by year.
Planning Your Visit
The museum is open Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 17 and under and for museum members. Train rides are a separate ticket and run only on select weekends, holidays and special events such as the fall Harvest Train, so check the ride schedule before planning a trip around one; the Annex is opened when enough volunteers are on hand. Lectures in the "Behind the Rails" series are held in the evening. Current schedules are posted at carsonrailroadmuseum.org, or call (775) 687-6953.
Explore Nevada's Historical Landscape
Use the When It Was app to discover historical businesses, landmarks, and buildings throughout Nevada. See how your community has transformed over the decades.
Explore When It Was →