Hand on the throttle and eyes on the rails...

Nevada Northern has a program where guys like me can actually operate a full size steam engine on mainline tracks (under the watchful eye of a real engineer). So I did that on Friday September 22! It was a great experience - I operated their 1910 Baldwin 4-6-0 coal burner No. 40 from Ely to Keystone and back (14 miles)...went through 2 tunnels twice (got cinders in my face inside those dark passages)...blew the whistle at the road crossings...the real deal! Carolyn chased the engine (I wasn't going very fast) and took some video. A really great experience...I can smell the coal smoke and hear the whistle now...