My family is a railroad family from way back. Together, my father and grandfather worked for the Santa Fe railroad for almost 90 years. My father’s job with the railroad took our family all over the panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas. Each summer at the end of the school year, we would join my father and live in a converted boxcar on the track. So did the rest of the families of the crew. It was great fun getting to see and play with our “summer railroad friends”. When the work was done on a stretch of track, the “bunk cars” were hooked up to an engine that moved everyone down the track to the next work site. Gosh….the good old days!
Just like the good old days with Santa Fe, railroads played an important part of our Nevada history. Dozens of railroads and miles and miles of track used to exist in Nevada. Today, different parts of the state have been able to save and restore some of the trains and rail that connected so many of the communities in the early years. One such train and spur of track is the Boulder Branch Line which is preserved and maintained by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City.
I recently had the opportunity to “High ball to Railroad Pass” on the train with Conductor Bonnie Himka and her volunteer crew at the NSRM. In layman’s terms, “High ball to Railroad Pass” means “All clear to leave the station towards Railroad Pass”. The first sounds much more exciting, don’t you think?
Conductor Himka was smartly dressed in her vintage conductor’s uniform. As a matter of fact, all the volunteers that day were dressed in vintage uniforms. Himka will soon finish her certification to become the first female engineer for the museum train. Her path to this certification has gone from being a museum volunteer to being a car attendant, a rear and front brakeman, and conductor. Her husband, Roger, is also a volunteer on the train. Their interest in trains began as a result of their volunteer experiences with another train …the Holiday Magical Forest Train at Opportunity Village in Las Vegas.
Today, a seven-mile roundtrip stretch of track is all that remains of the original route that was used by the Union Pacific Railroad and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The train was used to deliver materials and equipment from Las Vegas to Boulder City to the rim of the Black Canyon during the construction of Hoover Dam in the early 1930’s. The last of the large generating units for the dam were installed in 1961. Shortly thereafter, the tracks were donated to the state.
Now, the excursion train rides the rail west from the depot in Boulder City to Railroad Pass. The 45-minute trip is scenic and complete with narration. The train is comprised of refurbished Pullman cars, dating back to 1911, and other rolling stock acquired in 1993 from the “Heber Creeper” in Utah. The train has a capacity for 250 passengers when using its two air-conditioned Pullman cars with armchair seating, a roofed open-air car, and a closed car that is ADA accessible with a lift. There’s even a dining car and a kitchen.
The restoration of all the SNRM train pieces, including a 1963 Union Pacific locomotive, has been done in a large maintenance building located next to the track. And the hours that have gone into giving new life to the equipment have been volunteer hours. The train and its track receive “tender loving care” from the pool of 50-plus volunteers that are so proud to be involved.
Greg “Choo Choo” Tombaugh, chief car attendant and conductor, has been a volunteer since September, 2004. He has seen the railroad museum project grow substantially in the time that he has shared his enthusiasm and stories with the many riders that the train has had. The number of riders has grown from the 871 people who rode the train when it first opened in 2004 to an incredible 18,569 riders in 2007! The numbers are on track to exceed 20,000 riders in 2008. Beginning in January, 2009, the train will be available every Saturday and Sunday throughout the entire year.
The train has been used by school groups, as well as other groups like the ladies of the Red Hat Society and the alumni from MIT. The train has been the site for weddings and birthday parties. 
Santa has even been spotted riding the train the weekends in December. Rumor has it that Santa will ride the train again this year on December 6,7,13 and 14. But if you want to share your Christmas list with Santa while riding the train, you will need to reserve a spot and get your tickets early!
By far, the train gets its best reviews from the children and families that get a chance to ride on a weekend. Cars that travel U.S. Hwy. 93, the highway that parallels the train route, get enthusiastic waves from the scores of children that are riding on the train. And for most of them, it’s the first train ride of their young lives.
It’s too bad that several generations now have missed the chance to experience extensive railroad service and the thrill of riding a train. If the opportunity had been there, many would have the same feeling that I have every time I hear a train whistle or see a train rolling down the track. Nostalgic memories of the good old days!
The Southern Nevada Railway Museum is one of seven state funded museums. You can visit other state railroad museums in Carson City and Ely.
More Information:
Printable Coupons for Train Rides
Nevada Magazine’s “Cozy Little Burg”
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