Carson City Railroad Association Treasurer Doug Hutchinson talks about their 1955 locomotive that is ready to go for the summer if only the tracks were in good shape.
A Carson City institution thatâs been operating since 1981 wonât be taking to the rails this summer.
The Carson and Mills Railroad which wouldâve normally opened this Saturday during Memorial Day weekend wonât be in operation this summer. Itâs the first time the train wonât be running in Mills Park since before the first year of its operation in 1981.
The train is operated by the Carson City Railroad Association. Doug Hutchinson, the associationâs secretary, said the parkâs track has become too much in disrepair for the train to operate and the track has become to costly for the association to maintain.
Hutchinson said the association has repaired 500 ties on the track but another 500 ties need to be repaired. The cost to do that would be $7,000, he said.
âWeâre basically broke,â Hutchison said.
In the past it cost $2 per person to ride the train while ages 2 and under could ride for free. Three ride tickets cost $5 in the past.
But Hutchison said itâs been difficult to raise enough revenue to keep operating the track. âWe had a bad summer last summer,â he said.
And this summer will also obviously be bad since no revenue will be coming in.
Hutchinson said the association has been looking into fundraising efforts. Anyone interested in supporting the effort to have the Mills Park train operating again can call Hutchinson, 775-849-1911.