Nevada Northern No. 40 is a 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type steam locomotive which was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, PA in July 1910 for the Nevada Northern Railway Company.
40 originally served as a passenger locomotive during the original years of when the Nevada Northern was a US class II railroad as the main locomotive for the railroad's crack passenger train, the "Steptoe Valley Flyer". Before the Nevada Northern retired the locomotive in 1941, 40 was given a complete overhaul in secret by the shop crews in the Ely roundhouse. 40 was then put onto standby service. Afterwards, 40 was used in 1956 for the railroad's 50th Anniversary excursion and pulling a charter train for the Central Coast Railway Club in 1958, as well as another excursion in 1964 celebrating Nevada's 100th anniversary of statehood, before being tucked back into retirement in the very back of the Ely roundhouse, preserved along with several passenger cars that were used with the locomotive since then. This was the last time 40 operated in revenue service. When the Nevada Northern shut down in the 1980s, the City of Ely was given the historic locomotive and train, along with the entire East Ely Yard, which was unaltered since being built in 1906, and any of the equipment and all of it which was inside the donated property. 40 is now currently used as a mixed traffic unit with the other Nevada Northern steam and diesel locomotives. But, its most famous role is the main locomotive for the "Ghost Train of Old Ely" excursion train. 40 is now one of three operable steam locomotives on the Nevada Northern, the other two being 93 and 81.
40 ran its final excursion run on October 19, 2020 and is now undergoing its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection and overhaul. In addition to the FRA mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection, the Nevada Northern is also going to completely rebuild 40's running gear and tender. In the meantime, 40 has temporarily been replaced by 81, which was restored to operating condition in September 2021, but 40 is currently scheduled to be done with its complete overhaul sometime in 2024. When its overhaul is complete, 40 will run alongside 81 and 93 in excursion service once again.
The total cost for 40's complete overhaul is around $1.29,000,000, but the Nevada Northern is doing a dollar-for-dollar matching grant of $487,160 provided by the Save America's Treasures Grant from the National Park Service. This means that for every dollar the Nevada Northern spends, the Federal Government gives them a dollar. Once the Nevada Northern matches the $487,160 matching grant, the overhaul can be completed and 40 will return to excursion service once again. In December 2022, it was announced that about $500,000 was raised to the Nevada Northern in order to complete 40's overhaul, running gear and valve work for 93, and preserving archives. When 40 returns to excursion service alongside 81 and 93, the Nevada Northern plans to have a big celebration event in 2024, including a first-ever tripleheader run with 40, 93, and 81.
Trivia[]
- 40 is the official state steam locomotive of Nevada.
- 40 was also featured in several films such as: Running a Steam Locomotive Vol. 2 and Grandpa Worked On The Railroad with the Yreka Western No. 19, Once Upon A Texas Train and Skyfire Video's "Ghost Train"/"Thunder on the Rails".
- In 2018, the Nevada Northern Railway filmed 40 for a music video for Japanese rock star 長渕剛（Songs）Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, and his song "Black Train".
- In 2019, 40 and a mixed train were filmed on the Hi-Line to McGill for an AT&T streaming service commercial.