2019 loneliest road - part 15, Ely: Nevada Northern RR history - Travel With Us

Barney and I have always been fascinated by railroads because they changed the face of the nation and brought us into the modern world. The Nevada Northern Railroad has been called the best preserved and most original example of an American railroad facility.

The Nevada Northern RR, a standard gauge, coal-fired steam engine, is one of these significant railroads in the Ely area. The tracks were laid over a century ago, connecting one of the largest copper mines in North American to the transcontinental railroad. It’s been awarded the status of National Historic Landmark!

We stopped by the depot on Friday as soon as we got into town to get our tickets for the next day. In this first post about Ely, we’ll look at its history.

why the railway?

So what’s the big deal about the Nevada Northern Railway? We all know about the transcontinental railroad that was completed in 1849 to connect the east with the west. With this route in place, other towns could connect with it.

A copper mine had been operating in Ruth since 1900, just west of Ely and known as the Kennecott Mine, and all ore was being transported to McGill, just north of Ely, by wagon to get to the smelters. Mark Requa built the Nevada Northern Railway to support this mine and move the ore more efficiently and less expensively.

Mark Requa had the vision to build the railroad

The Nevada Northern was finished on September 29, 1906, and Mark Requa drove a copper spike made from the Kennecott Mine’s copper.

Trains ran back and forth from the Kennecott Mine to McGill for smelting every day, all day long. From McGill, the processed ore could be sent on to the eastern U.S. for further refining and marketing.

A separate passenger line from Ely was built to connect the town to the mine’s rail line so passengers could travel north and connect to the main rail lines going east and west. This passenger train ran once a week. We heard that students had to ride the train to school in Ely since they didn’t have any roads in town for a long time.

the in-town passenger depot now with another purpose since the rail line doesn’t exist any longer

Here’s what was needed to build the 140 miles

Ethnic groups working on the railway were Japanese, Irish, Scottish, Italians, Germans, Greeks, and Slovakians.

Japanese laborers were preferred because so many were available to work because of recent immigration. Without a lot of other work available to them, they were willing to work cheaper that the other ethnic groups.

first passenger train from Ely to the main line was in 1906

During WWI, Eastern Nevada provided copper and men to the U.S. Army for the war effort.

The famous recruiting poster was in the administrative office.

On July 31, 1941, the last passenger trail leaves Ely for Cobre.

history review

Vast amounts of copper ore discovered in Ely area encouraged Mark Requa to explore possibilities of building a railroad. The 4 mountain passes between Ely and Eureka would have boosted the costs, so he decided to have a separate connection to the Southern Pacific even though the distance was almost twice the amount.

Ely (red star) to the Pacific Railroad; Promontory is where the golden spike signaled the completion of the transcontinental railroad

Nevada Northern Railroad ran between the Kennecott Mine to McGill about 10 miles north of Ely to Cobre on the Central Pacific Railroad. The railways for Austin and Eureka are also shown.

An additional benefit of this new rail line was the ability to bring large items to Ely at a low cost. Some 4.5 million people traveled on the trains during this time to and from Ely.

back to the railroad depot

This 1907 picture shows the near completion of the depot. Still has the same look, doesn’t it? The building was the focal point of the operation that included 56 acres of land, a machine shop, and 70 other original buildings and structures. Since the railroad line was so far away from any other maintenance shop, the workers there had to be able to do everything to keep the trains running.