Nevada Northern Railway

Whoo, whoo, clang clang.   Whoosh.   Engine 93, a 1906 steam engine was preparing for its hour and a half excursion ride out to the copper mine at Ruth and back to Ely, NV.    Steam and black coal smoke and cinders issued from the stack, steam and water rushed out along the tracks, people climbed aboard the regular cars or the outside gondola car.   The first expedition for the 2013 season was about to begin and Chris and I were there.

Located at the crossroads of Hwy 50 and Hwy 93, Ely is a small frontier town of 9,000 or so folks.  It's history ties to mining in the district and part of that history includes the Nevada Northern Railway which ran  to the copper mines.   From their start in 1905-1906, the lines were developed to carry copper ore and products from the mines and smelters to the connecting Southern Pacific rails closer to Wells, NV.    Although primarily for copper, the trains  carried workers and transported  students from outlying communities to the high school in Ely.

Although the April 13 event was the first weekend of operation for the year, for us the special occasion was a celebration of Chris's birthday.   He loves trains and wanted to do this.  My first reaction was that the 517 miles, 8 1/2 hour drive from Concord was too long trip for a weekend.   But I knew, from previous trips, that the drive across Hwy 50, "The Loneliest Highway," is a restful, beautiful drive.  If we could break it up with Friday night  along the way, and perhaps Sunday night as well,  it was possible.

I made reservations for two steam trips.  Timing would not work for us to take the other line, a diesel trip and be back to the Bay Area in time.   But as I made reservations I realized we could do something a bit different than simply riding the train.   We needed a place to stay overnight in Ely; why not in the bunkhouse right in the train yard?


My view of the bunkhouse

Chris's view of the bunkhouse and surrounding terrain



Looking out from the bunkhouse

   Trains don't run at night so it was quiet, the bed was comfortable, and we were there to see them put the engine to "bed" in the early evening.   And we would be there early in the morning to watch them ready the engine for the 9:30 am run.

But there was one more surprise for Chris, one he didn't know about until we picked up our tickets on Saturday.  On Sunday morning he would be riding in the cab with the crew!

On Sunday morning we were in the train barn\shed\building a few minutes after 6 a.m. to watch the crew prepare for the day's trip.   They left some coals in the firebox so that they would not have to heat up from scratch.  

The normal cab crew is two; the engineer and the fireman.   As an old HR person, I know fireman is an outdated term but I don't know of a non-gender specific title for a job that is largely gone in the modern world.  Since it only exists in historic old railroads, we will use the historic term.   It is the person who feeds coal into the firebox to fuel the steam to operate the engine.  But, also as an former HR person, I was delighted to find a young woman would be our engineer that day.

Our crew included the young woman who was the engineer-in-training.   A full fledged engineer was along to support and supervise her.  Add the fireman and we had a crew of three.   In the shed in the morning was an older gentleman who periodically checked the work of the three young people as they oiled, greased, fueled, and checked over the engine.

 

Finally, some scenes from the cab as Chris rode along.  

Fish eye lens view from inside the engine cab.

The final three scenes are from the trip across Nevada on the Loneliest Highway.   For more scenes of this road, check out my May 2009 blog entry.    There is still some snow in the mountains, although less than one might hope for in mid-April.   In the town of Austin, about mid-way across, a small car rally was gathering.  The old cars fit right in with the town's buildings.   And the final shot is the Shoe Tree, a phenomenon along the route.  Hey,  there's not much happening anywhere nearby! 

The Loneliest Highway, Hwy 50 across Nevada

Scene in downtown Austin, NV.   The old cars were a bonus for Chris during his birthday weekend trip.

Hundreds of pairs of shoes decorate a cottonwood tree at a pull off on Hwy 50.

To Ketchikan

It's official.  I am headed to Ketchikan, Alaska for the summer.   I have been offered and have accepted a position as Naturalist for Allen Marine Tours.   You can check out the tours, even watch a short video by going to their web site at http://allenmarinetours.com     Along the left will be a listing for their tours out of Ketchikan.  And once there, the pink camera icon near the top will give you a short slide show.

I won't be taking the motorhome, or the car.   I'll have an efficiency apartment for the summer, will walk and use public transit.  Ketchikan does not have many miles of pavement and is accessible only by air and sea.   Chris will keep an eye on my motorhome and use my car for weekend excursions as it gets far better mileage than his work car.   He will fly up to Ketchikan at some  point.  We are waiting until I have some sense of schedule, things to do, other logistics and then make plans.

I grew up on stories of Ketchikan.  My mother was a  SPAR, a member of the women's division of the Coast Guard during WWII.  She was stationed in Ketchikan and had many wonderful adventures, and appreciated the natural beauty and history of Ketchikan's peoples.

As 2012 comes to an End

Greetings for this special season.

Another year is almost over and what a year!   I invite you to scroll backwards through the previous posts and read about my year and see all the photos.   Often the postings are more photo essay than essay so it makes easy reading.

This year found the relationship with Chris expanding and growing stronger.   We managed, despite our different lifestyles, to spend a lot of time together.   It was a year of some magnificent and special travels.  It was also the year I lost my good friend, Alice.  

The year began in the Sonoran Desert with Chris joining me for New Year's weekend. And I am headed back there now.   In between there has been an African safari, a look at Dubai, a visit to Hawaii, Maine, and up the coast to Halifax, and time in the Southwest and California.   I didn't work this summer, the first time in a number of years.  I missed the role of tour guide but this year had plenty of new rewards.

I look forward to hearing about your year, your adventures, your families, even the trials and tribulations.  But I hope it was mostly a positive year for you.   And that you enjoy the holidays, be it Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, solstice.   And that the new year holds great promises for you.

Scroll thru the older blogs to see my adventures this year.  At the end of each section you can click on "older posts" to continue.   By going back to Jan 2012 you will have covered the year.   You can click on the photos to enlarge.