Railroad Museum in Carson City on the state budget hit list

Under a proposed state budget plan, four of Nevada's museums operated by the Division of Museums and History would close, including the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, said Peter Barton, acting administrator for the Division of Museums and History.

Other museums on the proposed state budget chopping block are the Nevada Historical Society in Reno, the state's oldest museum which opened in 1905; the Lost City Museum in Overton; and the Nevada Northern Railway Passenger and Freight Depot in East Ely.

The museum in Carson City, at 2180 South Carson Street, across from the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, has 10 part time employees and is opened four days a week: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. In 2009 the museum's budget was slashed and included layoffs and all full-time workers were reduce to part-time. If it were to close it would be on July 31, 2011.

Barton said because it is early on in the budget process, it is not clear how the cutting will unfold. With the state's $3 billion budget deficit, cutting the museum would only make a small dent, he said.

"There's a $3 billion shortfall, and if you cut museums, we are only talking a couple of million a year," he said. "We're still left with a $3 billion shortfall. We are not going to fix the problem if it these museums go away."

Stunned by the news, Candy Duncan, executive director of the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau said closing the museum would be a blow to the state's attempt to sell itself as a tourism destination.

While the V&T Railroad does not directly fall under the museum, the two benefit from one another in terms of history and providing visitors an authentic railroad experience, she said.

"Here we finally have a viable tourist railroad from Carson City to Virginia City, the V&T Railroad where the Saturday and Sunday steam train rides have been sold out almost every weekend. This shows that there is a worldwide audience of rail fans that come to our area not only to ride the trains but to learn about the train's history at the museum."

The Visitors Center, located across from the museum, has become the sounding board for the most recent state budget cuts, when the hours and days were reduced.

"We've had grown people throwing temper tantrums at the Visitors Center because in the past the Railroad Museum was open seven days a week, now its only open four days a week," she said. "These people are quite upset to have traveled such long distances to come to the museum only to find it closed."

"When tourism increases, we pay part of our room taxes, which goes to the state's commission on tourism. All of the other taxes that are paid by visitors — from gasoline and what they eat here what they do as tourist —comes back to our community," she said. "A better solution might be to raise the fees."

If it closes, it could have ramifications for the Carson City economy, Barton said.

"If you close the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City the state will save less than a million dollars in general fund revenue. It will cost the local economy in business to the community and tax revenue generation. It will cost more than a million in lost business if we close it," said Barton.

Travel and tourism to Carson City would suffer if such cuts happened, he said.

"It's a problem all the way around ... We clearly we contribute to the local economy. People who come to visit museums will probably buy a meal in town and buy fuel for their vehicles. We contribute to tax revenue from bed taxes to meal taxes," he said. "We are part of a vibrant travel and tourism economy. And we are part of what makes a liveable community. People who live in Carson City want to live in a community that has a vibrant arts and culture economy, which includes museums."

Slated to stay open under the proposed budget plan are the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, The Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas and the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City.