Argent 5, which was displayed/operated at the Northern Queen Inn, Nevada City, Calif., was moved earlier this month to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City for display. The museum's Facebook page has more photos; it's to be repainted into its Argent scheme.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitebutto ... otostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitebutton/8633216873/

Out of curiosity, I noticed that on the map the museum & the Inn are close to each other. Aerial photos show some track (narrow gauge??) in the area between the two locations. The photos (from your link) show #5 being pushed by a Plymouth loco. Are the museum & inn connected by track?
Thanks,
Phil

Thanks for posting the pics. IIRC, this is the only remaining Lima narrow gauge rod locomotive?

See next post

I've never really understood the relationship between the Northern Queen and the museum, but the short answer is Yes, they are connected by rail.

In the 1990s the Northern Queen offered rides aboard a West Side & Cherry Valley rail bus (and sometimes Argent 5) on a large loop of 3' gauge track behind the Inn; there was also quite a bit of 24" gauge at the site and an 0-4-0T from Colorado's High Country Railroad (plus a little diesel) that ran on it - I do remember seeing some dual gauge track. The operation was known as the Nevada County Traction Company. It was very well done.

Before the museum moved to its current location members stored NCNG 5 and other equipment on Inn trackage. When I visited the museum a few years ago the Inn trackage was dormant and the train rides were no longer offered. It also appeared that some of the track, including all of that in front of Inn and depot, had been pulled up. I know that the Inn donated the land that the museum now occupies. There is a rail connection, but I'm not sure if it was put in by the Northern Queen or by the NCNG RR Museum.

These photos are from March 1997. The trackage seen here has been removed, and I didn't see the railbus in 2010. I don't know what became of it.

Jeff Terry

The trackage is/was the Nevada County Traction Company. It should not be confused with the original Nevada County Traction Company which was a traction line up to 1923. The modern incarnation was 2' gauge and ran a very twisty route through the grounds owned by the inn. Part of it was gardens and part forested. Power was a plymouth and it pulled open flatcars with roofs and benches. It rand to the top of a hill where an old Chinese cemetary had been restored. They also had Argent 5 (with some 3' gauge track) and a European side tank loco which were on display along the line. I rode it in 2005 - it was a nice ride, just not "historic" in its own right. As I recall the owner passed and Cal OSHA ordered it shut down for dubious reasons. I believe these guys got the NCNG museum its start and have been connected by rail since that time.

More info here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29448
http://www.trainweb.org/foothill/frnevadacity.html

Wonder what will happen to the little 0-4-0. Love that little thing! I wonder if they'd ever sell it...?



http://www.flickr.com/photos/norcalbarn ... 0978316706