The last holiday train whistle of summer in Carson City won't belong to a locomotive this Labor Day weekend. Instead, the Nevada State Railroad Museum will celebrate with a fleet of self-propelled machines that once made their living on branch lines and desert shortlines — the humble, hardworking "motor cars" that kept railroading alive where a full steam train was simply too expensive to run. The museum's inaugural Motor Car Rally, running Saturday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, gathers historic and replica motor cars from museums across the West for the 100th birthday of one of its own treasures.
The guest of honor is the museum's Tucson, Cornelia & Gila Bend No. 401, an Edwards Motor Car built in 1926 by the Edwards Railway Motor Car Company of Sanford, North Carolina, for the shortline that served the copper-mining community of Ajo, Arizona. The car operated between the Phelps Dodge copper mine at Ajo and the Southern Pacific connection at Gila Bend. In 1943, its original Continental gasoline engine was replaced with a larger White engine, and it remained in service until Dec. 31, 1947. The TC&GB retired the car in 1955 and donated it to Travel Town in Los Angeles in 1956. It later made its way to the Nevada State Railroad Museum, arriving in 1985.
The rally brings together some of the most notable motor cars in the West. The Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose" No. 7 comes from the Colorado Railroad Museum. The Death Valley Railroad Brill Motor Car No. 5 travels from the Laws Railroad Museum & Historic Site near Bishop, California. From Nevada City, California, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Museum sends the motor car Sarah Kidder. The museum's own Virginia & Truckee McKeen Motor Car No. 22 will also be on hand, along with replicas of the Virginia & Truckee Motor Car No. 24 and Nevada Central Motor Car 107-C.
Rides will be available on the Galloping Goose, Death Valley Railroad No. 5, the Sarah Kidder, TC&GB No. 401, and the V&T McKeen No. 22. The event also includes turntable talks highlighting the history of each car, behind-the-scenes tours of the museum's annex, lawn games, food trucks, and live music. The musical lineup features Greg Gilmore and Bumps in the Road on Saturday, Rachael McElhiney and Kat Heart on Sunday, and Spike McGuire and Darren Senn on Monday.
The museum's curator of history, Adam Michalski, noted the rarity of such an event: "Events solely dedicated to motor cars are rare in railroad preservation. It is great to celebrate some of the more unique motor cars in the West, such as the TC&GB No. 401 Edwards Motor Car, the V&T McKeen Motor Car, and, of course, the RGS Galloping Goose No. 7."
Admission is a single daily wristband that covers everything: $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 4 to 17, and free for children 3 and younger. The museum will not sell individual rides or standard admission tickets during the event, and member discounts do not apply. Tickets can be purchased in person or online at carsonrailroadmuseum.org.
The Nevada State Railroad Museum at 2180 South Carson St. in Carson City is dedicated to preserving the railroad history that helped build Nevada, including the Virginia & Truckee line. Its collection includes vintage locomotives, rolling stock, and the operating motor cars that are the focus of this weekend's celebration — machines that represent a nearly extinct breed of railroading. For anyone interested in the unusual and the historic, the Motor Car Rally offers a rare chance to see and ride the self-propelled cars that once kept many small lines running. A hundred years after No. 401 first rolled onto rails in the Arizona desert, the museum is bringing that story to life on its own tracks.