State breaks ground on new railroad museum

A lot has changed about Boulder City since it was founded nearly a century ago but one thing has remained a constant: The lot on the northwest corner of Buchanan and Boulder City Parkway has always been vacant. But that is about to change as ground was broken on Friday for a long-awaited expansion of the Nevada State Railroad Museum that is slated to open on that corner in the summer of 2026.

The museum as it exists now has long been a significant tourist draw to town even though it is, to quote Museum Director Christopher MacMahon, “A 100% outdoor experience.” Although the museum was created in 1991, there were not even shade structures or displays for any of the collection until 2001.

MacMahon made that characterization in a 2023 interview with the Review. When asked at that time how he got interested in trains, MacMahon noted that he thinks many, if not most, little boys go through a time when they are fascinated by trains.

“Some of us just never grow out of it,” he said.

He never really thought his interest in trains would become his life’s work.

“I kind of thought, ‘Well, it’s always good to have a hobby.’ I’m just really fortunate to have been able to turn that hobby into a profession,” he said.

The Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City, was created with the tracks from the historic Boulder Branch Line that were donated to the state by Union Pacific Railroad. In 2015, community meetings in Boulder City were held to gauge interest, obtain feedback from neighboring businesses, as well as to determine what elements should be included in a future structure. In 2019, funding for the design phase of the project was approved by the Legislature. The project was “shovel ready” ahead of the 2023 legislative session where it received funding through Conserve Nevada Bonds and authorization to proceed to construction. The bidding process opened this past summer and Rafael Construction was awarded the contract.

The new visitor center will include the following features:

■ More than 2,800 square feet of permanent exhibit space for educational displays.

■ Multipurpose room that will be utilized as classroom and lecture space for museum programs. This space is also available as a community meeting space.

■ Climate-controlled archive space to store and care for the museum’s smaller artifacts, photographs, and documents collections.

■ Research reading room for those utilizing the museum’s collections.

■ Expanded space for the museum store (new store is 668 square feet, current store is 75 square feet).

■11,000 square foot passenger loading platform that will allow guest access to the two different train rides (standard and narrow-gauge).

■ Welcome plaza with landscaping and Bureau of Reclamation locomotive centerpiece.

■ Parking area for 57 spaces.

■ Office space for staff.

Dan Thielen, administrator for the state Division of Museums and History came to the podium to introduce Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony and said, “The visitor center will allow residents and visitors to experience the history of the southern railway in an unforgettable way. This facility will not only bring the heritage to life in the style that it deserves. It will create a tourism attraction for domestic and international visitors, contributing to the regional visitor economy. Local businesses will benefit from a major tourism attraction. One that authentically represents the unique history and character of the city.”

Noting that part of his job is to be the chair of the state tourism commission, Anthony said, “A big part of we do is on the commission is support what’s called Travel Nevada to support our tourism industry here in Nevada. We want people all over the country to come to Nevada. We want people all over the world to come to Nevada and enjoy our tourism industry and of course, while they’re doing that, they’re leaving their money behind, which is good for our economy.”

Anthony went on to delineate the difference between the tourist draw of places like Las Vegas and town like Boulder City.

“There’s really two different types of tourism here in the state of Nevada,” he said. “We have places like Las Vegas and Reno/Sparks that are constantly reinventing themselves. In fact, I came here in 1980 and I don’t think any of the casinos on a strip then are still there today. We’ve blown them all up because that’s what Las Vegas does. But there are other parts of Nevada where we do not want that to happen. We want them to be historically sound and historically significant.”

Anthony continued and brought the focus to Boulder City.

“Here in the state of Nevada, we really want to preserve our history and you can do it through books, but that’s not enough,” he said. “You gotta be able to see it and feel it and look at it. and that’s what these museums are all about. And that’s why I’m really proud that all of you have come together today to build this museum in the great community of Boulder City. This is a great town here, and it’s a great place to have this museum where it’s not only just for our tourists, it’s really for us. It’s for us, for our kids, that we can bring them here and teach them that Nevada has a rich history that you need to learn about.”

With Anthony, dignitaries in attendance included Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant (who represents a large district that includes BC and fairly recently became a resident) as well as Mayor Joe Hardy, council members Sherri Jorgenson and Steve Walton, as well as councilwoman-elect Denise Ashurst.