“I Think I Can, I Think I Can” The folks of Ely, Nevada, don't understand the word “No.”

The Nevada Railroad Foundation’s dedicated crews are in the process of restoring the 1917 Baldwin 2-8-0 Locomotive No. 81 so it can be put back in service as one of two primary steam engines to pull the historic rolling stock of the popular Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nevada.

- JANA BOMMERSBACH

Ely, Nevada—so remote, the closest Walmart is 200 miles away—knows it’s doing something it shouldn’t be able to do. Mark Bassett isn’t daunted. As president

of the Nevada Railroad Foundation, he’s restoring a 1917 Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive that has been sitting idle in the fi erce winters and desert sun for over 60 years. Her name is Locomotive No. 81—”All our steam engines are ‘hers’—they’re divas: high maintenance and very expensive,” he explains.