Photographers lined up on a snowy hillside outside of Ely, in eastern Nevada, cameras clicking. At the same time, an old steam locomotive pulling rail cars dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries rattled the ground beneath, with the whistle blowing. As the train passed, you could smell burning coal and feel the heat radiating off the steam engine.
These photographers are serious about trains. They’ve traveled to Ely for the Winter Steam Photo Weekend, an event hosted by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.
The Winter Steam Photo Weekend features historic steam locomotives and other rail equipment dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But this museum isn’t quite like other rail museums. This museum has a full-sized railway with roughly 30 miles of track, and all the equipment is original to the railway.
The event is held every February in Ely, about halfway between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. It attracts photographers from all over the country, and even the world. Jonah Collins traveled from Virginia to see the old steam locomotive and other historic rail equipment in the snow.
“It’s cold, and everything looks better when it’s cold, and the steam engine is wonderful,” said Collins. “The people here are fantastic. It’s wonderful. I love this place.”
During this weekend, the museum recreates scenes from a bygone era along the rails for the photographers. The train takes them to various locations along the route. They’ll then hop off the train to take photos as the train rolls by. The scene repeats itself at more than half a dozen spots during the ride.
Photographers aren’t the only people here. Jennifer Evans is from Utah and just loves steam locomotives. Her son is a volunteer at the museum and surprised her with this trip.
“I don’t know about trains, but I just love to hear them, see them in action, and there’s so much to see in action, and every time we come, there’s something new,” said Evans.
Finding a steam locomotive that runs in 2024 is rare. It’s even more rare to see one running in the snow. Mark Bassett is the president of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. He explained why the railway and the Winter Steam Photo Weekend are so unique.
“We call it touchable history,” said Bassett. “This is the stuff that's been here for over a century. To be able to photograph that and document it is, I think, utterly incredible. Basically, we time travel during the photoshoots.”
Much of the history lies in their engine house, where the engines are stored and maintained. When you walk in, you’re greeted by DJ, the shop cat who has been living in the engine house for over three years.
Locomotive 93, the 1909-built steam engine running that weekend, is prepped here each morning.
Inside the cab of Locomotive 93, Bill Megill gripped the whistle cord. He stuck his head out the window frequently to keep an eye on the tracks ahead. It’s a lot warmer in the cab of a steam engine than outside. While he kept an eye out, someone was shoveling coal into the firebox. Megill has been running steam locomotives for 27 years and says he’s passionate about what he does.
“Those of us that run steam do it because we love it, not because it’s our job. If you’re doing it just for a job, you’ll never enjoy it. It’s hard, it’s dirty, it’s tiring, but there’s something about running steam that’s just amazing,” he said.
The ride in the Locomotive 93 cab is a wild one. As the engine goes faster, you feel the need to grab onto something.
At the end of the day, the Locomotive 93 crew tucked it away in the engine house where it would be readied for another day of running.
The museum offers regular weekend steam locomotive train rides starting in spring and running through fall. The museum is also working to get two of their other steam locomotives back into service, along with restoring service to the nearby town of McGill.
