CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada State Railroad Museum will be hosting its “Star Spangled Steam Up” during the Fourth of July weekend, July 3-6, 2025. The headliner during the event will be a guest appearance by Nevada County Narrow Gauge 2-6-0 No. 5, Tahoe, returning to the museum for the first time since the 2022 “Great Western Steam Up.”
Tahoe was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia to haul lumber for the Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Co., which operated the engine between 1875 and 1899. The locomotive was then sold to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad and renumbered to No. 5. Stardom would be set in motion for the Tahoe as it was purchased by Frank Lloyd Productions in 1942 to appear in both movies and television. Life after Hollywood would see the 2-6-0 return to Nevada County in the mid-1980s as part of a lease agreement from Universal Studios. Since 2018, Tahoe has been fully owned by the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, Calif., and has been operating since 2022.
Joining the Tahoe in the festivities will be Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming 2-6-0 Glenbrook, sister engine and resident of the Carson City museum. The museum’s standard-gauge Virginia & Truckee 4-6-0 No. 25 will also be under steam and taking part.
According to the “Star Spangled Steam Up” event page on the Nevada State Railroad Museum website, all three locomotives will share train-ride duties around the campus during the event’s daytime hours. The evening will offer unique operating and photo opportunities, including No. 25 pulling a mixed freight (July 3), and a doubleheader with Tahoe and Glenbrook (July 4-5).
