Across the street from the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Depot is an Arts and Craft Bungalow that was built for the railroad’s Vice President by the railroad in 1923. It is really an enclave, in addition to the main house there are Servant’s Quarters, a single car garage and a shed. The house is currently privately owned but it is essentially unaltered and all of the outbuildings still exist.

Our goal is to include the Vice President’s house and outbuildings in the Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards National Historic Landmark. Does anyone know if there are any other examples of a railroad’s president, vice president or general manager having a house provided to him by the railroad that is a next to the that railroad’s yards or tracks that still exists today?

How unique is the situation in Ely?

I currently own the house and I would like to see it included in the National Historic Landmark.

Thanks,

Mark S. Bassett
Executive Director
Nevada Northern Railway, National Historic Landmark

I think the closest I can come is some railroads provided housing for station masters in remote locations, but I can't think of any that have been preserved as museums.

The other possibility is housing in company owned towns, such as Cass.

Bob H

Are you talking about disconnected facilities or depots with station agent quarters upstairs (for instance)?

Doug vV

Hey Mark - here in the South, we have a tradition of paternalistic enterprises in resource extraction and textile and furniture making. Some of these enterprises ran railroads to serve their industries, and lived in relative proximity, but probably not nextdoor to the yard or enginehouse. Buck Duke built his Charlotte mansion within a half block of one of his streetcar lines........ it is still standing as a B&B, but the streetcar line is long gone.

dave

Mark,

Across Nevada at Mina the Southern Pacific provided housing for their management and supervisory people and their families. A number off these houses are still occupied and in fairly good condition. I recall talking with the woman who owns one of the general stores in town and she said that the 100+ year old stairs do not creak.

Up in Alturas, California, I think the N-C-O had two houses south of the general office building.

I seem to recall reading about several shortlines that provided housing for their resident manager. And of course various mines and other industries did the same in remote locations.

Preserved houses -- I cannot think of any directly connected with the railroad industry.

Mark,

There only examples I am aware of are at the East Broad Top.

The Iron Rail Bed & Breakfast is a 1885 Victorian home was built by the East Broad Top Railroad for the General Superintendent, A. W. Greenwood and his family. The home was used by the railroad until 1956.

The Markle House was the residence of the East Broad Top's President.

While both of these buildings are still around, they have been modified, so your essentially unaltered house in Ely is probably unique.

Oh yeah.... the Casey Jones House museum, which was moved away from the railroad to a "better" location.

dave

The Colfax Railroad Museum acquired the Section Crew House across the tracks from the final depot in Colfax, WI last year after a tornado damaged the building. We are in the process of restoring the building to use as an events facility and library/archives. This was originally on the site of the final depot (current museum) and served as the depot from 1898 to 1914. It had family quarters above the depot area for the station master. When the new depot was built, it was moved across the tracks and served as housing for the section chief and rooms for the section workers.

As a side note from history, this station was the final whistle stop on Teddy Roosevelt's last presidential campaign (1912), before the assassination attempt in Milwaukee. It is believed that the assassin was on the train, stalking Mr. Roosevelt, but a passing freight train interrupted the speech.

While far more lowly than a company officer's house, Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario has the former CNR duplex section house from Smiths Falls, Ontario. we moved it oto museum property from its former location across the road:

http://rmeo.org/wp/section-house/

Steve Hunter

Union Pacific provided housing for management at many out-of-the-way locations until the mid-1980s. When I was in Green River (WY) in 1985, the company was selling off the last of the houses they owned. These houses were actually very modern. Toward the end of the decade, we were selling off houses made available for section foreman and laborers.

[quote="Dougvv"]Are you talking about disconnected facilities or depots with station agent quarters upstairs (for instance)?

Disconnect structures.

Mark

There is one (of three) remaining section houses in Dunwoody GA used by the Roswell Railroad/Southern Ry.

The other two were razed between when Mom and Dad moved us out there in 1968 until about 2000.

The remaining one has been modified (added on to) but the central two sided fireplace (from 1881) is still there. There is a door to an inner wall that was apparently originally a door from in to out. A "kitchen" for the share cropper that used the place after the railroad bellied up in 1921 was added to the rear of the house. I do not know if the front porch is original or an add-on.

It was used by various people as housing, retail sales, and for the BBB until she was on the local historic register. I have not seen her in three years and do not know the current status.

The very small (less than 1/4 acre) tract of land she is on plus the building was listed for sale for $500,000 about 4 years ago. Dunwoody has become a nuevo rich area.

Doug vV
Acworth, GA

Armour, SD (named after the meat packing family) preserved a MILW built two-story section foreman's house. Relocated to a side street on the court house square, it is painted gray with maroon trim.
Alex Huff

Railroad House Park and Museum in Sanford, NC. A&W 12 is also on the site, and it is within a few blocks of the former Edwards Car Company factory, and the brushy lot where the A&W turntable and enginehouse sat.

dave