Courtesy of Matt Liverani
Welcome to another installment of White Pine: Then & Now!
In this week’s edition, we revisit the East Ely depot. The original photo, taken sometime between 1908 and 1914 based on the lack of the iconic water tower behind the depot, shows the depot much as it appeared when constructed in 1906. The name East Ely was officially adopted in 1908 after Ely residents objected over the use of Ely (the actual town of Ely was roughly two miles west of the depot at this time). The railroad changed the name to Ely City, which also didn’t work so after a series of lawsuits and counter-suits, East Ely was born.
The current day photo, taken January 28, 2025, the depot itself hasn’t changed much, but the grounds around it certainly have. The old copper cauldron in front of the depot is long gone, replaced by the monument identifying the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Also long gone are the awnings over all of the second floor windows. That iconic water tower mentioned earlier is seen poking above the west end of the depot. To the east of the depot, a canopy over the plaza has provided museum patrons a shady place to sit while waiting on the train for well over ten years now. The depot today is under the care of the Nevada State Railway Museum while the Nevada Northern Railway Museum cares for the remaining 56 acres and the trains that keep people coming to visit the museum.
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