Ex-Kennecott Baldwin VO-1000 #801 Starts Up For First Time in 39 Years

For the first time in 39 years, ex-Kennecott Baldwin VO-1000 #801 is fired up. After replacing the batteries and thoroughly inspecting every part of the locomotive, it was determined that there should have been nothing preventing it from running. July 1, 2022 was selected as the start up day and with the go ahead from Master Mechanic John Henry, Con Trumbull brought the locomotive back to life. Less than a minute later, the old Baldwin settled into a nice idle while several shop workers finished up some smaller tasks. At 9:18am, Con opened the throttle and 801 once again moved under its own power and the crew ran her through the East Ely yard looking for and correcting any bugs that may still be lurking. Con and long time volunteer of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, Ron Taylor, spearheaded this project. Now that the locomotive is officially operational, the shop crew will go through and fine tune everything, clean and possibly repaint the body and then add the historic diesel to the active roster of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. The locomotive was built in December 1942 for the Bingham and Garfield Railway in Utah as their #.801 In 1949, Kennecott transferred the locomotive to their New Mexico Chino Mines Division and was renumbered 80. In September 1963, it was transferred to Ely, Nevada to Kennecott's Nevada Mines Division where its original number, 801, was restored. When the Nevada Northern Railway closed in 1983, the locomotive was stored in operating condition, and subsequently donated to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum when it was founded in 1987.