Welcome to the Nevada web page of the
U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association
The U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association is a
Not-for-profit IRS 501 (c) (3) "Public Charity"
Federal ID Number: 91-2136205
The Association is dedicated to the economic development and
cultural preservation of inner cities, small towns and rural
communities located along all 3,652 miles of historic U.S.
Route 6, aka the Grand Army of the Republic (Memorial)
Highway. We are all volunteers, either retired or keeping
our day jobs. Sponsorships and Donations are used to help
support our Sr. High School and College Student Internship
Programs. Join the Team!
"Working to preserve our American Heritage"
Sponsorships Application
NOTE: You can also use the below Donate to pay for
sponsorships.
A SPECIAL HAPPENING!
Remembrance Day - May 28, 2023
Dirt the Cat
In Memory of the Passing of Dirt the Cat.
Official Mascot and Greeter of the Nevada Northern Railway
Ely, Nevada
Nevada Northern
Railway Museum Historic train ride
We knew he was beloved,
not only by us, but also by people around the world. Our
Facebook post that announced his passing has reached nearly
2 million people. Phenomenal! Because of this outpouring of
support, I would like to make two announcements.
The first is the we will be honoring Dirt, The Boss Shop Cat
on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28th.
Secondly, we have hired a sculptor to create two life-size
bronzes of Dirt. If you would like to contribute to having
the bronzes made, we have a special account set up for
contributions, it is named Dollars for Dirt, click here to
contribute.
We plan to unveil Dirt’s Statute and Headstone on May 28,
2023 at 10:00 am. This is the Sunday of Memorial Day
weekend. We will be operating two trains that day, the first
one is 11:30 am, for tickets click here, the second train is
at 2:00 pm, for tickets click here.
Because of all of the interest and support, the museum is
committed to having two bronze statues made. One statue and
a gravestone will be over his burial place. This is near the
East Ely Depot where he can look out over the train yard and
watch all of our activities. The second statue will be
displayed in the engine house where he was born at the
Nevada Northern Railway National Historical Landmark in Ely,
Nevada.
In Dirt’s passing, he has transformed from being our Boss
Shop Cat to becoming an ambassador for Heritage Railroading
across the country and around the world. Dirt’s physical
presence has left us, but his spirituality is still with us
and will be for as long as steam locomotives still operate.
I consider Dirt following in the paw prints of Smoky the
Bear. Smokey was a real bear cub that survived a forest
fire. He eventually transformed into a symbol of fire
prevention, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.”
I see Dirt, The Boss Shop Cat doing the same thing. Dirt
will help us reach new people to explain why the
preservation of our steam railroading heritage is so
important. Dirt, will also be instrumental in helping us
teach railroad safety to children.
Dirt was and still is truly amazing. As long as the big
wheels keep turning here, Dirt will be with us all. It’s a
tall order, but then again, who knew that the runt of the
litter, a little orange and white ball of fur would become
such a colossus in the world of heritage railroading!
I hope you can join us on May 28th, we look forward to
having you join us in celebrating the life of Dirt, the Boss
Shop Cat. We will try to livestream the event for those of
you who can’t make it.
Only in ELY!
Artist concept of NNRY's Currie, NV depot
Relocated and Restored at Star Flats
Dear Friends, (July
2021)
Thank you for all of your support. It was successful.
The White Pine County Commissioners voted unanimously to
include the Nevada Northern Railway's Phase VI Star Viewing
Station project as one of their recommendations to the
Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) Board
for funding. We received over 400 letters of support from
White Pine County, the State of Nevada, across the United
States and one letter from Japan! Thanks to that wonderful
support, we were included as one of the recommended
projects.
The next step is for us to put together the grant proposal.
The improvements covered in this grant proposal are:
Improve the railroad track on the HiLine for a better Star
Train experience.
Relocation of the original historic Currie, NV depot from
its current location (71 miles north of Ely) to the Star
Flats Viewing Area (see artist rendering, above).
Restoration of the Currie depot and repurposing as living
quarters for star interpreters in addition to creating
modern restroom facilities for passengers.
Expansion of the existing star platform to expand the
capacity for Star Trains, as well as providing a location
for additional programming.
Once the grant proposal is put together it will go to the
Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) Board
for funding. That should be before the end of the year.
Again THANK YOU for all of your support! This is a very
exciting project that will expand our programming and better
yet, save a historic Nevada Northern Railway building the
Currie Depot.
Mark
Mark S. Bassett
President, Nevada Northern Railway
Layout of the proposed Star Flats program area
Express Your Support
To Open The Railroad to McGill
Dear Friends,
This is about opening the Railroad's branch line into
McGill. The Nevada Northern Railway Foundation has a grant
pending before the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)
Southern Nevada Public Lands Advisory Committee to open the
railroad track to McGill Nevada. The amount of the project
is $10,168,421. Our project was in Round 18, "Parks, Trails,
and Natural Areas" It was recommended for Secondary Funding,
but now needs to be promoted to Primary Funding.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting written
comments on these nominations until close of business (4:30
PM Pacific Time) on Wednesday April 14, 2021.
Commentsmay be sent via email to:
blm_nv_snplma_comments@blm.gov
Please mention "Nevada Northern Railway Phase III, Ely
railroad right-of-way (East Ely to McGil Depots) in White
Pine County, NV" in your comment. It does not have to be
long. It is most effective to start your comment saying that
you are in favor of funding the project.
The government committee will meet in May to review comments
received and develop a final recommendation for
consideration by the Secretary of the Interior in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.
The Foundation is almost done with restoring the McGill
Depot. Opening the track to McGill will once again bring
trains to McGill and increase tourism opportunities for the
community.
Funding of this project will once again open the railroad
track to the McGill Depot from the East Ely Depot. Opening
the railroad to McGill will increase tourism for both Ely
and McGill. This will create jobs in both communities as
well as business opportunities too. The opening of the
railroad to McGill will open large swatches of BLM land to
the public for their recreational enjoyment.
This is a win-win for both communities. Please take a moment
and send an email today.
Thanks
The
Abandoned Tracks of the Nevada Northern - Mc Gill and Ely -
YouTube
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Railroad Museum - Ely, NV - AOL Video
Search Results
Nevada Northern Railway -- National Historic Landmark
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Travel Nevada on U.S. Highway 6
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History – Tonopah Historic Mining Park
Travel Nevada on US Highway 6 - The Nevada Travel Network
A Special "Thank You" to The Nevada Travel
Network
for making this Wonderful Web Site Available on the
Internet.
