RR visitor center exterior nearly complete

To use railroad terminology, one can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Nevada State Railroad Museum Visitor Center in Boulder City is nearing completion, with the exterior work down to a few final things to be checked off the list.

“Substantial construction work on the visitor center is now complete, with the contractor focused on touching up the exterior finish and remedying items identified in the punch list walkthrough,” Museum Director Christopher MacMahon said last week.

“One of the last major items where work is still being performed is the installation of handrails throughout the property. Construction of the track-side water tower has been postponed until November due to supply chain interruptions that developed during construction.”

While construction work is wrapping, fabrication of the exhibits that will occupy the interior of the visitor center is already underway, he said. Exhibit installation begins early August and is anticipated to last two to three weeks.

They anticipate opening the visitor center to the public in September, and a grand opening ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.

“It’s a beautiful facility and I hope all who visit and engage with the exhibits and educational material walk away understanding the significance railroads have played in the economic development of Nevada,” MacMahon said.

Ground broke on the project in December of 2024. Among the dignitaries on hand that day was Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, who said, “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. You’ve got to 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.”

Within the 3,800 square feet of exhibit space, guests will explore how railroads helped facilitate mining booms in Nevada, examine the railroads that built Hoover Dam, investigate the top-secret Jackass &Western Railroad that operated at the Nevada Test Site. They’ll also learn how railroads continue to shape and build Nevada today, MacMahon said.

In addition to the exhibit space, there will also be an archive to store the museum’s document and artifact collections, a reading room for those conducting research at the museum, and a multipurpose room that will be utilized as a classroom for educational programs and school tours but also be made available for public meeting space when not used for museum programming.

The project also includes a larger museum store, new parking lot with a bus loading/unloading area, a welcome plaza, and a railroad passenger loading area with tracks on either side.

The visitor center project comes with a price tag of $25 million and is being paid for by Conserve Nevada Bonds. The future exhibit hall is estimated at approximately $88 million.