The Long Way
Clark County
A train station platform under a metal canopy.
Plate I. Train platform, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org
People ride a small scale model train past miniature buildings.
Plate II. Miniature train ride, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org
People look at a model train layout indoors.
Plate III. Model train exhibit, Nevada State Railroad Museum. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org
People ride on a miniature train.
Plate IV. Live Steamers, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. Photograph by CMMacMahon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A blue locomotive and train on tracks against a blue sky.
Plate V. Excursion train, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org
A front view of a grey steam locomotive parked under a pavilion.
Plate VI. Historic locomotive, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org
A photo showing the interior of a train museum or workshop with two yellow and red cabooses.
Plate VII. Caboose exhibit, Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. From boulderrailroadmuseum.org

Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City (Nevada Southern Railway)

Boulder City, Clark County, Nevada. Excursion train rides.

Details

Map. Boulder City, Clark County, Nevada. Larger map
Where
1000 Boulder City Pkwy, Boulder City, NV. Directions
When
Trains depart the visitor center at 10:00am, 11:30, and 1:00pm.
Season
Train rides are offered September-June on Saturdays and Sundays.
Getting there
Take I-11/US-95/US-93 South towards Boulder City. Exit Boulder City Parkway. Take a left onto Yucca Street, which is right after the Taco Bell on the left hand side. Immediately turn right on to Six Companies Drive and follow it to the visitor center parking lot.
Fees
Admission $5. Adults $15 Child $6 Museum Admission is included with all train ride tickets.
Access
Train rides are suspended in July and August due to extreme heat, as well as between Christmas and Martin Luther King weekend to facilitate annual inspections and maintenance.
Walk-in or reserve
Tickets can be purchased by selecting ticket sales on the navigation bar.
Phone
(702) 486-4149
Website
boulderrailroadmuseum.org
Managed by
Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City.
Established
35th anniversary celebrated in 2026.

Train rides are offered Saturdays and Sundays except summer. Travel behind one of our historic diesel-electric locomotives in early 20th century rail cars along the original Boulder City Branch Line. This 10 mile round-trip between Boulder City and Paradise Hills last approximately 45 minutes.

Notable Events

  1. 1928In late December 1928 the United States Congress authorized construction of the Boulder Dam Project, the largest single civil engineering project conceived up to that date. nevadagram.com
  2. 1930Construction of the Union Pacific Boulder City branch was conceived in July 1928, with work starting in September 1930. nevadagram.com
  3. 1931The line was placed in service in February 1931. nevadagram.com
  4. 1936In 1936, the Six Companies Railroad was abandoned and scrapped and the U.S. Government Railroad was turned over to the Bureau of Reclamation. The Union Pacific continued to serve the community hauling freight, with passenger service provided by Union Pacific buses. nevadagram.com
  5. 1985The Union Pacific decided to abandon the Boulder City branch line, but instead, the branch from Henderson to Boulder City was given to the State of Nevada in 1985 to preserve the right of way; the upper four miles were retained by the state and became the site of the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City. nevadagram.com
  6. 2001Existing passenger facilities were completed in 2001; ridership grew from 1,600 in 2001 to more than 43,000 in 2013. reviewjournal.com
  7. 2016Lawmakers approved the transfer of $469,000 from the Department of Tourism to the museum to fund the development of construction documents for a proposed 6,000-square-foot building. reviewjournal.com
  8. 2026Grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new $23 million Visitor Center at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City. boulderrailroadmuseum.org

People

  • Peter Barton, administrator of the Division of Museums and History.

Sources

  1. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/exhibits
  2. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/nevada-state-railroad-museum-boulder-city-to-celebrate-spooky-season-with-annual-halloween-express
  3. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/events
  4. facebook.com/NSRMBoulderCity
  5. railroadroundup.com
  6. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nevada_State_Railroad_Museum_Boulder_City_Live_Steamers.jpg
  7. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/ticketsandfares
  8. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/hours-and-location
  9. boulderrailroadmuseum.org/about
  10. nevadagram.com/nevada-southern-railway/the-dam-railroad-or-how-the-railroad-that-built-hoover-dam-became-a-railroad-museum
  11. reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/nevada-state-railroad-museum-full-steam-ahead-to-expand-visitors-center