Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City honored with Historic Preservation Award

The Nevada State Railroad Museum and its restoration team were honored with Carson City’s 2016 Historic Preservation Award presented at the Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday.

The award recognizes decades of public service in the preservation, restoration and celebration of Nevada’s railroad heritage, centered on the recent completion of the Glenbrook steam locomotive project.

Each May, Carson City recognizes significant preservation accomplishments to celebrate the community’s history and heritage in celebration of Historic Preservation and Archaeological Awareness Month. All over the state, activities are held to remind Nevadans of the important historic resources that give meaning and a sense of place to communities and focus attention on how critical it is to make sure they are preserved.

Chris DeWitt, Rick Stiver, Mort Dolan and Lee Hobold received individual honors for work on the 30-year project to restore the 1875 narrow gauge locomotive that once served the lumber and tourist operations in the Lake Tahoe Basin and later greeted visitors to the Nevada State Museum in the late 20th century. After 39 years in the courtyard, it was sent for restoration to what is now the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1982, where the prized piece was painstakingly restored with authenticity and historic accuracy via a generous grant from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation.

A genuine memento of the Comstock, the locomotive sports its original riveted steam boiler, fired with wood, and its original paint scheme, hand lettered and striped. For certification, it was tested and steamed in November 2014 for the first time since 1925, just a short distance from where it started.

The Glenbrook will be under steam for Memorial Day weekend. Train rides on other historic equipment are $8 for adults and $4 for children 3-11 or museum members.

Visitors can view The Glenbrook whenever the museum is open. Regular museum admission is $6 for adults; children 17 and younger are free.

For more information, contact the museum at 775-687-6953, or visit the museum on Facebook.