USA: The Nevada Motor Car Rally will bring seven historic and replica rail vehicles to Carson City from September 5–7, with rides marking TC&GB No. 401’s centennial.

The Nevada Motor Car Rally brings seven heritage rail vehicles, rides and tours to Carson City from September 5–7, 2026.
Photo Courtesy of NSRM

Seven motor cars in one Carson City lineup

The Nevada State Railroad Museum will assemble five visiting vehicles alongside two cars from its own collection. The lineup includes Rio Grande Southern “Galloping Goose” No. 7, on loan from the Colorado Railroad Museum; Death Valley Railroad Brill Motor Car No. 5; the narrow-gauge motor car “Sarah Kidder”; and replicas of Virginia & Truckee Motor Car No. 24 and Nevada Central Motor Car 107-C.

The museum’s own TC&GB No. 401 and Virginia & Truckee McKeen Motor Car No. 22 complete the seven-car program. According to the museum’s published event program, passenger rides are planned on five vehicles: Galloping Goose No. 7, Death Valley Railroad No. 5, Sarah Kidder, TC&GB No. 401 and McKeen No. 22.

Behind-the-scenes Annex tours are planned, while turntable talks will highlight the history of each motor car. The weekend program also includes food trucks, live music and games in the park.

Don’t miss…Union Pacific Big Boy Tour Ends After 7,145-Mile Journey

TC&GB No. 401 reaches 100 years

The museum’s history of TC&GB No. 401 identifies it as a Model 10 built in 1926 by the Edwards Railway Motor Car Company of Sanford, North Carolina. Tucson, Cornelia & Gila Bend Railroad bought the car for $10,465 to serve the copper-mining community of Ajo, Arizona, with operations extending to the Southern Pacific connection at Gila Bend.

No. 401 remained in regular service until December 31, 1947, before its retirement and preservation at Travel Town in Los Angeles. Short Line Enterprises later acquired it, and the car briefly operated on the revived Virginia & Truckee tourist railroad in 1976. The Nevada State Railroad Museum acquired it in 1985.

The operational lineup also gives visitors access to McKeen Motor Car No. 22, a 1910 vehicle restored with a diesel-hydraulic drive and returned to service at the museum in 2010.

One wristband covers rides and activities

The rally opens at 9:00 a.m. on September 5 and ends at 4:30 p.m. on September 7. A one-day wristband costs $25 for adults and $15 for children aged 4–17, while children aged three and under enter free.

Wristbands cover the event program, including rides and tours. The museum will not sell single-ride or standard admission tickets during the rally, and member discounts will not apply.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

Don’t miss…SNTF Completes Modernisation of 20 EMD Locomotives