alder gulch railway

Decent enough trip between Nevada City and Montana City. We were lucky to have the switch man answering questions for us about the area. I think children would really enjoy this. We were given the wrong time for our return train and just missed it, so rather than making us stay in Va. City for another hour (in the rain - otherwise we'd have taken the walking trail between the two), one of the workers called another and arranged a ride for us back to NV City. Very accommodating. If you're a walker and prepared for the weather, though, I might ride one way and walk the other.

This was such a wonderful experience for us. Virginia City and Nevada City (where the train takes you) were lovely authentic cowboy towns full of buildings, stores, shops, and eateries from the "olden" days. The 1 mile, round-trip rail ride was reasonably priced and historic in itself. Nothing in either of these 2 towns came across to me as many tourist traps do. It was real, fun, and the best authentic cowboy town in the west!

While staying in Virginia City, we took the Alder Gulch Railway to Nevada City to check things out there. It's a short ride, only 1.5 miles or so, and it takes about 25 minutes. As of this writing the steam locomotive is inoperative while the railway raises money to complete government required safety inspections, and so a small gasoline engined buggy powered the 3 or 4 little cars. The scenery isn't anything to write home about, it's not terribly comfortable, and the train itself isn't much to write home about. That said, it was the perfect way to get in a train ride for my 3 year old son, while not taking all day, and actually getting somewhere we would have had to walk or dive to otherwise. I would happily recommend it to anyone staying in the area who wanted to get from VA City to NV City, and had kids that wanted to take a train to do so.

You wouldn't think a little 2 mile (approx) train ride would be so fun, but it is. Getting a different view, relaxing, cool on a hot day, visiting with others.... It's just sweet. Can't wait to go again before summer is over!

It’s a tiny open air train that runs between Virginia City and Nevada City. We learned a little history of the area on the ride but were disappointed that the stories were the same both coming and going. It isn’t very scenic but it is fun and I am sure kids will enjoy it greatly. We purchased tickets that included both the train and the museum; they were well worth the money. It’s a small train so they highly control how many ride it. I suggest getting tickets and booking your seats in the AM if you plan to ride in the PM. I saw several people trying to get tickets later in the day only to be disappointed. We bought tickets in Nevada City rode the train to Virginia City had lunch and then came back to tour the museum. I suggest viewing the museum first, then riding the train and having lunch. It was a bit too hot in the afternoon sun to tour the open air museum thoroughly. – Do NOT miss the museum.

We rode the C.A. Bovey (gasoline engine) last year and the Locomotive #12 (steam engine) this year. Both times we left from Nevada City. The trains run between Nevada City and Virginia City and take about 20 or 30 minutes each way. The route isn't all that scenic but it is a fun thing to do. This year, we wanted to ride the steam train which runs on weekends and holidays. A part had broken so it wasn't running. We bought tickets for the "Moonlight and Steam" train ride that departed Nevada City at 10:30 p.m. on July 11. There were cheese, crackers, and meat at the Bale of Hay Saloon and the ticket was good for 1 free drink. The train left Virginia City at 11:45 p.m. and got into Nevada City at 12:15 a.m. We even got robbed along the route by people looking for gold. I thought about giving the train a neutral rating because of what happened on the way back but decided to give it an above average with the hope that this doesn't usually happen. The train wasn't full and only 2 train cars had people in them. When we left the Bale of Hay, they allowed the summer help that were at the bar to ride the train. They filled up the entire front car. Most of them were too young to be served alcohol at the bar but one of the older kids brought a couple of bottles on whiskey on board. The ones who were old enough to drink were already extremely drunk and the others got drunk on the return trip. They were being very loud with almost every word out of the one kid's mouth being the "F" word, sitting on the side of the train car while it was moving and standing up a lot. One of the empty bottles ended up being tossed off the train. The one who brought the alcohol on board puked over the side of the car. This is billed as a family event and there was a family with young children in the car right behind theirs. We were far enough back to be spared the worst of them on the train ride but it did take some of the fun out of the train ride. They were parked next to us and, when I tried to get into our vehicle, the really drunk one tried to start someting with me but the ones who weren't as drunk got him under control and away from my husband very quickly. The older summer employees on the train were great to be around.