National Train Day

Nevada’s famous McKeen motor car will roll at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, Saturday and Sunday.

National Train Day is celebrated Saturday, May 7, in honor of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah that marked completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Operating from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days, the McKeen offers passengers an authentic glimpse of its rich and important past.

Did you put your Mother’s Day shopping off to the last moment? Head over to the Carson Mall for their arts and craft show. It’s pretty hard to go wrong with a nice dinner or brunch for her special day. Take a ride on the McKeen Motor Car at the Nevada State Railroad Museum or the Ferris Wheel at RSVP’s Spring Fair and Carnival. And you can take Mom to a matinee of Western Nevada Musical Theatre's "Music Man" at the Bob Boldrick Theater in the Community Center.

SUNDAY: Mother’s Day

• Mother’s Day Rose Sale at the Greenhouse Garden Center (8am-6pm)
• Carson City BMX races and Mother’s Day Race at the Livermore (Edmonds) Sports Complex (Signups 9am-10am)
• Mother's Day Champagne Brunch at the Elks Club: 515 N. Nevada St. (9am-1pm; $12)

Happy Mother’s Day, Carson City! Several family friendly events are occurring around town this weekend. Take a ride on the McKeen Motor Car at the Nevada State Railroad Museum or the Ferris Wheel at RSVP’s Spring Fair and Carnival. A Harmonica and Strings Concert at Empire Elementary School showcases what some of our talented students can do. Get up early and head over to the Carson City Airport if your youngster has any interest in planes: Young Eagles flights are happening today if the weather permits.

SATURDAY:

• 23rd Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (leave your donation of non-perishable food items at your mail box for mail carrier to pick up)
• Greenhouse Project Annual Spring Plant Sale and Live Music with Hick’ry Switch at the Carson High Greenhouse: 1111 Saliman, off Robinson –behind the buses (8am-1pm)

The Nevada State Railroad Museum’s historical 1910 McKeen motor car, a National Historic Landmark, will carry passengers from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the museum, 2180 S. Carson St. in Carson City.

The McKeen motor car will operate for only four days in 2014; two of those days are this weekend. The event celebrates National Train Day, which is May 10.

This weekend, the McKeen will run every 30 minutes between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Rides are $8, $4 kids ages 4-11; free for children younger than 4.

To commemorate National Train Day the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City will operate and offer rides on May 10 aboard Virginia & Truckee Railway's McKeen motor car No. 22.

The car entered service for the V&T on May 9, 1910, and was retired in 1945. No. 22 is the only restored and operable McKeen motor car in the world. In 2012, the Secretary of the Interior granted the No. 22 National Historic Landmark status, which recognizes the McKeen motor car's significance to United States history.

One of Nevada’s most significant historic treasures is now the nation’s newest historic landmark with action today from the United States Department of the Interior. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar listed the McKeen Motor Car at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City as a National Historic Landmark.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Wednesday announced the designation of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad McKeen Motor Car #70 based in Carson City as one of 27 national historic landmarks.
Calling the McKeen Motor Car #70, Virginia & Truckee Railway Motor Car #22, "the best surviving example of the first commercially viable application of internal combustion power in a self-propelled railroad car" the designation possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States, Salazar said.

Celebrating National Train Day, the Nevada State Railroad Museum’s historic 1910 McKeen motor car will ride the rails from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in Carson City.

Now a stellar attraction for rail enthusiasts and family fun, the McKeen Motor car operated from 1910 to 1945 racking up more than a half-million miles between Reno and Minden. The prestigious car became a diner and an office but was rescued by the museum when it was donated by the Bernhard family of Carson City in 1995.