U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., has assisted the Northern Nevada Train Museum in their efforts to obtain two engines for the museum. Bryan first assisted them to obtain two surplus U.S. Army locomotive engines for use by the museum and then provided additional assistance in helping to get these engines delivered to the museum from the Tooele Army Depot in Utah.
Bryan assisted the museum in its effort to obtain these surplus engines from the U.S. Army when they became available and continued to follow up with the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armament Command in Warren, Mich., after the museum's request was bogged down. The next obstacle was to get the engines delivered in an economical manner to the museum's location in Ely.
Last month, Bryan's office contacted the Union Pacific Railroad who agreed to move the engines on their tracks from the Tooele Army Depot to the connection with the Nevada Northern Railway's tracks at the Shafter Connection. Once the engines were delivered to the Shafter Connection, the museum was able to move the trains directly to Ely. They arrived the first week of August.
The surplus engines are circa 1955 American Locomotive Co. military model MRS-1 diesel/electric engines that had been used in the Army Transportation Corps. The trains have been stored at the Tooele Army Depot for years.