Museum to Hold Meeting on Henderson Track Use

The Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City will hold a community meeting to inform Henderson residents about a proposed Joint Use Agreement between the State of Nevada and City of Henderson to utilize approximately one mile of railroad track between Interstate 11 and Paradise Hills Drive.

The meeting will be held in the auditorium of Nevada State University, located at 1300 Nevada State Drive in Henderson, Nevada, on Thursday, September 28 at 5:30 p.m.

The proposed joint use agreement would permit the museum to utilize the city’s track for its normal operations including weekend excursion trains, weekday field trips for school children, special events, charters, and future dinner trains. The agreement would also allow the museum’s contracted rail bike vendor to run tours on this section of track.

The track was acquired by the City of Henderson for economic development via Act of Legislature in 1987 which included a deed restriction that the City could not restrict future access to any public agency. Negotiations began during the construction of Interstate 11 to determine the museum’s future access on the railroad right-of-way. A railroad bridge was constructed over Interstate 11 at significant public expense to facilitate future museum operations over the highway and onto the City’s tracks. The proposed Joint Use Agreement is the result of those negotiations.

Museum staff will brief the public on the proposed agreement, the history of the Boulder Branch Line, proposed operations along the section of track, assumption of maintenance and upkeep responsibilities by the State from the City, noise mitigation efforts, and what audible warnings railroads are required to sound in accordance with state and federal laws. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING: