McKeen Motor Car restoration complete

After 12 years of restoration, the McKeen Motor Car, V&T No. 22, is about to make its debut once again, and the celebration coincides with the arrival of the car in Carson City exactly 100 years ago to the day.

"It's great to be able to unveil this 100 years to the day," said Peter Barton, acting administrator of the state's Division of Museums and History. "The stars just lined up for us."

When the McKeen runs again on May 9, it will be the first time the car has been in passenger service since it was decommissioned from the Virginia & Truckee Railway in 1945, said Teresa Moiola, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Cultural Affairs.

"The Nevada State Railroad Museum has the only surviving, restored and operational McKeen Motor Car in the world," Moiola said.

The ceremony will begin at noon May 9, Mother's Day, at the Wabuska Depot in front of the railroad museum, 2180 S. Carson St.

"We found some people who rode the McKeen in its last day of service, and they'll be there, too," Moiola said.

The depot will be transformed into what it looked like 100 years ago, with old cars and period re-enactors, she said.

Rides will be offered every half hour during the afternoon from 1:30-4 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

"The McKeen is considered a valuable asset in the national records of our railroad history throughout the world," Barton said.

According to the Department of Cultural Affairs, William Riley McKeen Jr. began producing motorcars in 1904. McKeen's cars represent the first use of the internal combustion engine in rail service.

"McKeen was a pioneer in the development of self-propelled railroad cars," Barton said. "Prior to that, trains were based on steam locomotion."

He said McKeen built about 160 of the cars between 1904 and 1920. The Virginia & Truckee paid $22,000 for the 70-foot motorcar, which arrived under its own power in Carson City from Omaha, Neb., on May 9, 1910.

The restoration started in 1998 and cost just under $1 million, Barton said.

"In the field of railway restoration, this was a major milestone," he said.

"It was restored from the ground up, and many of the materials had to be fabricated," he said. "You can't just go to Home Depot and buy a window for a McKeen Car."

When the McKeen Car was donated to the museum, the restoration team discovered that the car body had been modified for use as a diner, lounge, pottery shop and plumbing supply store.

"Enough of the body remained to justify a thorough rehabilitation," said Chris DeWitt, restoration supervisor.

The project has had the support of the community, Barton said, including the Nevada Legislature, which provided funding, and with the help of about 100 donors, mostly from Northern Nevada, who provided time and artifacts.

Barton praised the restoration team, saying DeWitt has "an incredible engineering mind." DeWitt was assisted by Rick Stiver, a railroad restoration specialist who did the heavy steel work, and Lee Hobold, who took on much of the fine carpentry and interior work.

Jeremy Harding put in a number of years in a variety of roles, and Robert Tatum has only worked on the car a couple of years, but "masterfully painted the exterior," Barton said.

There were also a number of volunteers, but one man, Bev Smith, who is in his eighties, worked full-time 40 hours a week, Barton said.