RAILROAD HISTORY ROARS TO LIFE IN BOULDER CITY
MAY 11, 2016 | CATEGORY: NEWS & EVENTS
MARGO BARTLETT PESEK OF THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL TALKS ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES AT THE RAILROAD MUSEUM.
By Margo Bartlett Pesek of the Las Vegas Review Journal on March 14, 2015.
Part of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, the museum preserves a few miles of the branch line that the Union Pacific built in 1931 to serve the Boulder Dam Project during the construction of Hoover Dam. Weekend excursion trains roll along 7 miles of original track during round-trips that last about 35 minutes.
The Southern Nevada Railway excursion offers an introduction to an era that has nearly disappeared. For many visitors, this train ride may be their first such adventure. Railroads used to connect nearly all towns in America. Today, fewer rail lines operate and far fewer Americans ever board a train.
Dozens of railroads once served Nevada mines and communities. Today, only two major railroads still cross through Nevada. Only three short lines — the V&T from Virginia City to Carson City, the Nevada Northern in Ely and Boulder City’s Nevada Southern — remain from yesteryear.