Cobre to Ely

NV · Cobre → Ely

A copper railroad across 140 miles of Nevada desert — with a museum still running trains at the Ely end.

Heads up: Union Pacific's active main line runs through Cobre, and the museum runs trains on the Ely end — stay off both and ask permission before going near Ely.

Copper made eastern Nevada boom in the early 1900s, but the mines at Ely and McGill were nowhere near a railroad. Nevada Consolidated Copper built the Nevada Northern Railway in 1905–1906: about 140 miles north across the desert to Cobre, where it met the transcontinental lines. The line was finished in 1906.

For almost 80 years it hauled copper out of the Robinson district. When Kennecott shut down its Nevada operations in 1983, the railroad went quiet. The company donated the East Ely yard and shops, which became the Nevada Northern Railway Museum — one of the most complete railroad shop complexes left in America, and now a National Historic Landmark.

Out here near Cobre it's pure high desert — overgrown track, a big bridge over Duck Creek, and Goshute Cave nearby.

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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