Nevada State Railroad Museum absorbs flood waters diverted from Rhodes, Curry streets

Major flooding from run-off west of Curry Street in South Carson City has resulted in some damage to the Nevada State Railroad Museum property, said NSRM Curator of History Wendell Huffman.

Museum property borders Curry Street to the east and across from the Greenhouse Garden Center.

Excessive run-off coming down from the hills west of the garden center and Rhodes Street resulted in storm drains over-filling from clogs caused by sediment, said Carson City Public Works Director Darren Schulz.

"We experienced a large amount of run-off coming from the west hills in Carson City," he said. "In that area, we have been getting more than normal water flow."

Schulz said some of the excessive run-off could be from damage caused by the Shooting Fire last summer that started at a shooting range behind C Hill, burning more than 250 acres and threatened neighborhoods in the Carson Colony Washoe Tribe Indian Reservation off Curry Street.

Water run-off that began Sunday then spilled down Rhodes Street east to South Carson Street, Schulz said.

In an effort to avoid flooding on South Carson Street, Schulz said work crews constructed a makeshift dike out of sandbags, which diverted the flow from Rhodes Street north onto Curry Street and then east into the dirt driveway of the NSRM.

The intent was to divert water into a culvert that runs the length of the property's south border. But Huffman said the ditch wasn't able to handle the amount of water flowing from Rhodes and Curry streets.

"Everything that came down Rhodes and through the garden center got diverted over to here and got dumped on us," he said. "The drain on the far side of the property, it just wouldn't handle it.

Since Sunday, the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) has had crews on the scene at Curry and Rhodes streets trying to keep the storm drains free of debris while maintaining the sandbag dike diversion down into NSRM property, Schulz said.

NDF inmate work crews have also been busy since Sunday stacking sandbags at the museum and cleaning mud and water out of the equipment annex where most of the engines and train artifacts are stored, Huffman said.

"The Division of Forestry has brought in a lot of crews to help us out," Schulz said. "They are also working in that property (NSRM) to make sure to channel water away from any infrastruture there."

Huffman said the NDF work crews have been a big help to the museum in cleaning out the annex shed, ensuring no further water damage to the building.

There has been no damage observed to any of the railroad artifacts, Huffman said, only to the structure itself.

Carpeting in the offices on the side of the annex were soaked by the water intrusion, he said, and will likely have to be replaced.

Excess water has settled at the bottom of the turntable, said Huffman, which may require cleaning out all of the ballasts.

Some damage to the tracks may have been incurred by sediment carried by the water, said Huffman, but external damage to museum operations still has to be assessed.

Depending on the nature and extent of flood damage, Huffman said the museum could be closed for up to 30 days for repairs.

"If we really have to wash all of the gravel, then we're talking about the museum being closed for a month," said Huffman.

A collection pond to the north of Wabuska Station, bordering the U.S. Forest Service property and South Carson Street has been absorbing a lot of water from the weekend's flood event, too, Huffman said.

"I've never seen it that full before," he said.

Curry Street from Rhodes to about the Shell fuel station remains closed as long as water run-off in the area continues to be a problem from current storm activity.

The sandbag dike diverting water from Rhodes Street will also remain in place until the water run-off has subsided, Schulz said.

"Snow would really help us right now," he said. "But it's been warm, so the run-off is going to stick around."