Railroad History

Love of Nevada history introduced Art to Nevada politics and carried him, and you, to this website  

Nevada has a rich railroad history.  The Silver State was covered by multiple transcontinental and short lines. 

In 1910, you could take a train from Las Vegas to Carson City or Reno or to any other major Nevada city all while staying within Nevada's borders. 

Railroads were so important to the development of Nevada that the figure of a steam train crossing a trestle is the center piece of the state's Great Seal.  It is the only state seal memorializing railroads.

Preservation

Around the time of the Great Depression, many Nevada short line railroads sold off older locomotives and cars to Hollywood movie studios in desperate attempts to raise cash to stay in business. Hollywood wanted the vintage equipment for use mainly in western movies. History would, of course, come full circle.  In  the 1960s and 1970s the movie industry was in financial decline and the historic rail equipment were valuable back lot assets for sale  again.

Almost alone, Art figured that these icons of the Silver State's  rail heritage should come home for museum and tourist purposes. Art was one of the first to believe that saving history would diversify Nevada's tourist economy and give travelers more reasons to come here.

Art  appeared on almost every television station in Nevada and many radio stations, traveled to Southern California to photograph the equipment then wrote articles to accompany the photos for every Nevada daily newspaper.  This work soon gathered   public support.  Legislators were lobbied and passed funding bills over many sessions to buy back the old trains.  Art himself negotiated the discounted sale of Virginia & Truckee Railroad Locomotive Number 25 from a Southern California amusement ride construction company that had obtained the engine from RKO Movie Studio

Legislative appropriations, private donations and Federal matching funds have thus far paid for the reclamation of scores of old steam engines, passenger and freight cars, railway buildings, about 150 miles of track, the creation of three museums and three steam tourist railways. 

Archaeology

In the late 1960s Art pioneered the academic study of railroad field archaeology in Nevada.  While working on an MA in historic archaeology  from UNLV, Art did archaeological survey maps, photographs and artifact collections on abandoned railroad grades and buildings throughout Southern Nevada.

Virginia & Truckee Locomotive 2nd Number 8 at work in a 1972 made-for-tv film biography of Abraham Lincoln. The engine and V&T cars played Lincoln's 1861 inaugural train. This train set now operates on the V&T Tourist Railroad in Virginia City.
The The Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad  operated in Nevada and California from 1905 through 1940.  This T&T crew bunk car is shown at Death Valley Junction in 1940.

See the Art Rader collection at UNLV here.