Nevada Northern Railway Winter Steam Spectacular--Sunday Morning

This is part 4 in a 5 part series about the Nevada Northern Railway Winter Steam Spectacular Photo Shoot. Check out Day 1, Day 2, and Enginehouse posts.

 I got so enthralled with exploring the Enginehouse that when I heard the train whistle blew, I thought I had missed the train! I was trying to figure out how to catch up to it at the next stop when I saw little groups of photographers and sighed in relief. I still had time. In fact, they were positioning the freight train with the passenger car attached to the back. The conductor was keeping an eye out as the train backed up.

NNRY Executive Director Mark Bassett was on the caboose.

While the previous morning had been a shoot with the passenger cars, this morning was going to be with the freight cars.

 The Engineer was checking things out from his perch.

We ended up with a little time to take some closeups of the steamy engine in the yard.

Then we boarded. I chose to go in the caboose this time.

We headed northeast from the yard, on the line towards McGill. Then we stopped at Steptoe Creek for some photos.

The embankment was a little steep.

 The sun cooperated, and we had some great shots. The creek is dry right now, but there was a culvert so we could get photos from both sides.

Again, I love getting people in my photos!

 Where is the train going? Not to worry, it will back up and cruise along the rails again!

 I was ready to try the other side. The backlighting made for some interesting effects.

It was a lot of fun trying out different camera settings.

On this day I brought my older camera body with a wide angle lens so that I wouldn't have to change lenses so often. That was helpful.


Where's the passenger car? They had detached it to make our photos look more realistic!


I found some nice Basin Wildrye, a tall grass that can grow to six feet tall. I'm working on a project to restore this native grass, so I thought it would be fun to include it in one of my train photos!


Then we moved further down the line to a nice curve.

I didn't get any photos there I really loved. But then we moved on and the sun came out again.

I call this one "The Engine 40 Glamour Shot." It's like I'm looking up at the model with the wind blowing her hair.

I never knew what might catch my eye during the photoshoot! Here it was symmetry and colors.

Brakeman Gordon came off the engine to be at the switching station.

It was fun trying to get photos from every possible angle.

Then I had an opportunity that would be the highlight of the weekend...stay tuned to read and see all about it!

Nevada Northern Railway--Exploring the Yard and Enginehouse

Note: If you haven't already, you can check out Day 1 and Day 2 posts about the Nevada Northern Railway Winter Steam Shoot.

Sunday morning dawned with scattered clouds, so I got to the East Ely Depot early, about 6:30 a.m. I found the conductor sprinkling salt on the icy surface. We had been hoping for snow, but got freezing rain instead.

Nevertheless, it was turning into a beautiful morning, and I enjoyed wandering around the tracks. The caboose gave a nice burst of color.

The Baggage truck made a nice foreground for the East Ely Depot.

Then I went down to the freight barn. It's been renovated to hold parties.

The coaling tower and water tower caught some of the morning light.

I was surprised to see someone in the Scale House--but the person never moved. Not quite a live person in there!

Photographers were starting to gather in front of the Engine House, waiting for the steam engine to emerge. We still had time, so I kept wandering.

The RIP building, or Restoration in Progress building, is quite impressive. I had seen a photo of it with the windows reflecting a very pretty sunrise, but the clouds didn't quite cooperate this morning.

The end of the building reflects the motto "Safety First."

On the other side of the RIP building I found some of the shops and icy tracks.

There was also an old freight car.

And this cool gizmo--I'm not quite sure what it is.

Here's the Paint Shop.

And another view of the Engine House and Machine Shop complex.

I asked Dale if it was okay to take his photo. He's a frequent visitor to the railway, almost always on his trusty bike.

I wandered back over to the other photographers and we thought we still had more time, so I looked at this machine, which was used to replace old ties.

Yep, the doors are still closed. Why not look around the back?

I found the Wrecker Outfit Shed.

And a couple of old Army locomotives.

And quite a collection of junk. I mentioned before that the Nevada Northern Railway was shut down and just walked away from? It makes it so authentic, and it's on the National Historic Register because of it.

The track symmetry continued to fascinate me.

This is the entrance to the Machine Shop.

And then I saw the door was open! I hurried over to the photo line.

It was super cool watching the steam engine emerge.

It took off and we still had an hour until the train trip, so I decided to explore the Engine House. I went in the door the engine had just come out.

The diesel engines were sitting on the next track.

Back a ways was the Rotary Snow Plow. What a cool piece of equipment.

Then I entered a door marked Blacksmith Shop and I felt like I was in a candy store. It was beautiful! I didn't know what everything was that I was looking at, but I sure felt like I was back in time.

I also checked out this old caboose, which is on the repair list.

And this sign amused me.

I jumped down into the pit so I could get a different view.

It was such a fun exploration, and as part of the Winter Steam Shoot, I was allowed to explore on my own and take as much time as I wanted. It was a lot of fun.

Up next--another train trip in a different direction with some great lighting.