Full Steam Ahead, Wabuska Depot - Carson City

Whether you are a train enthusiast, or just looking for a fun weekend activity, this is SO much fun! We headed down to the Wabuska train depot today for a ride on a train pulled by a historic steam locomotive. Oh my goodness, this might just be our new favorite way to spend the day as a family!

When we visited the Nevada State Railroad Museum last week, someone handed me a brochure with the timetable for their train runs for the year. My kids heard what it was and got SO excited, until I told them that the train rides only happen on the weekend. Poor things were crushed! Fast forward to today, and we were all excited as we piled into the car and headed toward the Wabuska Depot, just outside the museum. The nearest parking is at the Chamber of Commerce right across the street fromt the depot, but the museum parking lot is not too far away either.

We purchased out tickets in the depot, then waited outside while they finished filling the engine's water tank.

 We finally got to board the train, and get our tickets stamped by the conductor. This was mostly just for the fun of it, things were pretty relaxed.

There were several different types of cars to choose from for the ride. We picked the flat bed car at the very front of the train, but any of them would have been fun.  This one (below) looked like it would be best on a colder day.

 The train makes several loops around the museum property, and ends by pulling into a siding where the engine unhooks from the train and takes a side track to reattach to the opposite end of the train. It was fun to be in the car closest to the engine so we could watch the uncoupling process from just a few feet away. The conductor told us it's even more interesting to be in the car on the other end where one can watch them re-couple the train. Next time...
After our ride was over we wandered around and looked at the other displays available that day. Because it's a holiday weekend there were people from the local fire museum as well as a booth from the Forest Service (complete with Smokey the Bear). I was told that these additional booths are not here every time the trains run, but only typically on special occasions.

 As fun as the ride was, we still hadn't had enough of all the trains, so we found a seat near the Chamber of Commerce and watched the trains for a while.

 Between the Chamber of Commerce building and the museum is a nice park-like area with lush grass, a picnic table, and nice restrooms (with changing table and drinking fountain). We took the frisbees Smokey had given the kids and played on the grass as we waited for the trains to go by. It was really a pretty great, low-key, way to spend a morning.

 If you love trains and don't want to pay to ride one, it would still be a lot of fun to just come sit at the park and watch the trains go by. We fully intend to come back another day to do exactly this!

 Essential Details:
Full Steam Ahead Train Rides
2180 S Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
Website/Timetable

Steam Train and McKeen Motor Car Rides:
-Adults: $8
-Children (4-11): $4
-Children (-4): FREE
1926 Edwards Motor Car Rides:
-Adults: $4
-Children (4-11): $2
-Children (-4): FREE
***Museum Members = half price

First train departs at 10:00 am, last train at 4:00 pm.