On our way to the Great Basin National Park we stopped in the city of Ely
Nevada. It was founded as a stage coach stop along the Pony Express route. The railroad to Ely is
preserved as a heritage railway by the Nevada Northern Railway and known as
the Ghost Train of Old Ely. They have steam train rides, museums and of course
trains.
click photo to enlarge
Ely had a mining boom in 1906 with the discovery of Copper.
Ely was home to a number of copper mining companies, Kennecott being the
most famous. With a crash in the copper market in the mid 1970s, Kennecott
shut down and copper mining disappeared (temporarily). As Kennecott's
smelter was demolished, copper concentrate from the mine is now shipped by
rail to Seattle, where it is transported to Japan for smelting. The dramatic
increase in demand for copper in 2005 has once again made Ely a copper boom
town.
click photo to enlarge
Ely has a population of just over 4,000 people. The big thing in town is the
tourist industry with the biggest draw being the trains. The railroad museum
features the Ghost Train of Old Ely, a working steam engine passenger train
that travels the historic tracks from Ely to the Robinson mining district.
In the photo below we were allowed to just wander through this repair depot
at will.
