elecuyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 6/30: Poke around NCNG, Visit Western Pacific RR
> Museum in Portola
> 7/1 & 2: Great Western Steam Up (yes, tickets
> purchased)
> 7/3: V&T
> 7/4 & 5: Nevada Northern
> 7/6: Laws
> 7/7: Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR
> 7/8: Jamestown/Railtown 1897
> 7/9: Niles Canyon Railway
> 7/10: Western Railway Museum
> 7/11: California State RR Museum
>
Bless you, Ed, that is more driving than I would want to do. The run from Carson City to Ely is especially long and boring. Having done Highway 50 several times, including at night (twice) and in the winter, I don't recommend doing it at night. There is not much in the way of services on that route, so if you have a problem, you are a long way from help.
A couple of notes:
As others have noted, the V&T does not appear to be running the Carson to VC route over the 4th of July weekend. Perhaps they are and it is sold out. I would call them to find out. If they are and there is a wait list, it would be worth doing. That is the run to ride. The Gold Hill runs are still available, but they are much shorter and you miss a lot of the VC branch scenery.
Unless the Western Railway Museum is running steam, you might want to swap that for Niles or Jamestown. I believe that both Niles and Jamestown only run steam on the weekends, so if you arrive on a Friday, it might be pretty dead. If it were me, I would want to see steam in Jamestown. That's the "movie railroad" and it is legendary. You won't see the 3 in steam unfortunately. I believe they put her down for an early 1472 after she had some flue issues. But the 28 is also a movie star, albeit with fewer credits.
Use caution at the California State Railroad Museum. I never had a problem there, but a good friend had all of his camera gear stolen from his car....right in the parking garage nearby, right in the middle of the day. Clearly, he was watched as he arrived. They saw that he was carrying a camera and they hit his car right after he departed for the museum. Good advice, leave nothing in the car....certainly nothing visible. That is a strange area. It looks pretty benign, but apparently, there is crime around. You never know what you might see. I was photographing the steamboat from the opposite shore of the river and happened upon a couple that was putting on a live "show" right there in the park. Hey, it's California.....
/Kevin Madore
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2022 09:05AM by KevinM.
