National Historic Landmark · railcar · Carson City, Nevada

McKeen Motor Car #70

Preserved gasoline-powered railcar in Carson City, Nevada. Added to the National Register in 2005, and a National Historic Landmark.

McKeen Motor Car #70
Photos via Wikimedia Commons

What it is

Wikipedia · Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22

Virginia and Truckee Railway Motor Car 22, also called McKeen Motor Car 70, is a gasoline-powered railcar at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City in the U.S. state of Nevada. It was built for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in 1910 by the McKeen Motor Car Company. Motor Car 22 was operated by the Virginia and Truckee until 1945, when it was sold off and became a diner until 1955. It eventually became the office and storage space for a plumbing business before it was donated to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1995. After a thorough study, the Museum undertook a restoration of the McKeen car in 1997. The restored motor car was unveiled in 2010, a century after it was originally delivered to the Virginia and Truckee. Motor Car 22 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. It is one of a few surviving McKeen railcars, and the only one that is operational.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

National Register of Historic Places
Property typeStructure
AddressNevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, NV
CountyCarson City County
ListedSep 6, 2005
Reference number05000968
Type of placerailcar
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark
Contributing resources1 structures

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Open to the public
AddressNevada State Railroad Museum, Carson City, NV
Coordinates39.14844, -119.76856 · Directions ↗
Nearest national park unitYosemite National Park · 91 mi · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearbyMount Rose (Nv) 13 mi · Zephyr Cove Rv & Campground 14 mi · Nevada Beach Campground 15 mi
This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

Explore

Why you would stay

Reference

Exists because it is true

Sources

Location, dates, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 05000968. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.