Dads rode free on this bright, almost cloudless Sunday, and there were plenty around as the mournful whistle of the old V&T signaled its arrival at the Nevada Railroad Museum's old Wabuska Station. Cheers rose from the crowd as old V&T No. 25 groaned to a stop amid swirls of black smoke and white steam.
A poll taken among the under-8 crowd waiting on the platform revealed no consensus as to what makes a great dad. But they all seemed to agree that it's the simple things that count, like doing stuff together.
"I like to ride the train, " 5-year-old Ruud Harrison said with a shy smile. "(Dad) takes me on the little train, too," he said quietly, referring to the train at Mills Park.
"I like to play catch with my dad," David Holcomb, 7, said, noting he's on the Rockies' T-Ball team locally. When asked who his favorite TV dad was, Holcomb didn't hesitate.
"Shaq," he said.
The V&T No. 25, along with the four cars used Sunday were all historic V&T equipment, and will be fired up again July 1-4. There will be steamboat races and other activities for the kids, as well as concessions dished up by the Warren Engine Company and Marine Corp League.
A 1920's vintage motor car is operated most weekends, but on select weekends the historic steam engines head a train of cars
The 13-acre site includes a restored Southern Pacific Railroad depot with reconstructed water tower, and a loop of track that circles the complex. The museum's main interpretive center building houses restored steam engines as well as freight, passenger cars, museum exhibits, and the museum store.
Tours of the annex building are available where many more examples of restored and unrestored railroad equipment and artifacts are on display.
The museum owns the largest remaining collection of 19th century rolling stock in the country, including passenger and freight cars, many of which once operated on the region's famous Virginia & Truckee Railroad.
Weekend trains operate weekends through October. They will also be operating Thanksgiving weekend. One of the biggest events of the winter season is the Santa Train, which will run December 9 and 10.
The museum, located at 2180 S. Carson St., is open daily from 8:30 to 4:40 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults, free for those under 18. Steam train rides cost $2.50 for adults, and $1.00 for children 6-11. Motorcar rides are $1.00 for adults, and $.50 for children.
