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I wasn't sure if I should even write this article, as who is really interested in a modern-day, tourist-oriented, ultra short line railroad? However the Ramada Express Railroad is a unique operation, and it deserves to be covered in any 21st century web page, dedicated to steam railroading.
Left: Ramada Express hotel, is located at 2121 S. Casino Drive, in Laughlin, Nevada. Right: Conductor Ed shouts "All aboard!" as Number 7 prepares to leave Casino Station. Laughlin, Nevada, is best known as a friendly, destination for gamblers, which features a low-key, "folksy," alternative to glitzy and high-priced Las Vegas, a couple of hours to the north. In addition to gambling, visitors to Laughlin can enjoy all the watersport activities that the Colorado River has to offer, four-wheelers can enjoy spectacular off-highway trips, and the history buff can enjoy historic Route 66, and the many interesting roadhouses and buildings that remain, and you can get off the Interstate and drive portions of the "Mother Road." Unknown to many, Laughlin offers a steam railroad, that features a narrow-gauge 4-4-0, that runs five days a week, and offers steam train rides for the price of a smile!
Left: The train makes its stop, and pauses before crossing the main road that people and vehicles take to enter the hotel. Right: Number 7 tackles the 2% upgrade track, with the Colorado Belle Casin in the background, and the hills of Arizona in the bar background. I love telephoto shots! The Ramada Express Hotel features Laughlin's only working railroad, steam powered or otherwise, which is called the Ramada Express Railroad, and most of the time, it's powered by #7, a.ka. "The Gambler," with #11, a.k.a. "Lucky Lady," held in reserve. The railroad operates 5 days a week, from 1000 to 1700 on Saturday to Wednesday, (no train rides on Thursday or Friday,) and is known to the outside world as the "Gambling Train of Laughlin." The railroad was built in 1988 to promote the railroad theme that the Ramada Express hotel/casino attempts to project. In addition to the railroad, there is a history museum that displays patriotic artifacts from the Second World War to the First Gulf War, and veterans are honored with a special pin, and are shown a 15-minute film honoring their sacrifices. I'm a Navy veteran, and I sort of chuckled as I received my "15 minutes of fame," but all in all, it's a good presentation and does highlight many of the accomplishments that veterans have accomplished. The "Ramada Express Railroad" also serves as a publicity showpiece for the casino, but it has a very practical aspect as well, as it provides rides to folks camped in recreational vehicles in the "back 40" of the 27 acres that the Ramada Express in built on. By the way, the RV crowd camps for free at the Ramada Express, which is a nice gesture of management to the nomadic crowd.
Left: After negotiating the tricky crossing, Number 7 highballs the 2% grade uphill, toward Mohave Station. Right: Number 7 rounds the sharp curves and is approaching Mohave Station, with the many RVs that cater to Mohave Station parked in the background. The railroad has two engines, and five pieces of rolling stock, which consist of 3 passenger cars and tow flat cars. It's narrow-gauge, e.g. 36" between the rails, and utilizes wooden ties, and 110 pound rail. You read that correctly, 110 pound rail! The railroad's right-of-way is about 3/4 of a mile, and it encounters steep grapes, tight curves, diverse scenery, including a spectacular, curved wooden trestle. The pike is well-built and well-engineered, and utilizes modern construction, "faked" to appear as it was constructed many years ago. The railroad serves two stations, "Casino," which is the main station, and "Mohave," which caters to the RV crowd camped in back of the hotel. The road resembles a model railroad, as the main line forms an exaggerated loop around the property, with a couple of side tracks, which lead into the "Engine Shop," which provide refuge for #7 and #11, when the railroad isn't operating. As previously stated, the railroad operates 5 days a week, and generally operates 4 or 5 trains an hour, as their publicity states that it takes 12 minutes to run the 3/4 track, including a stop to take on passengers at Mohave Station. I noticed that the train runs very slow, at about a fast waking pace, which I'd estimate to be 5 or 6 miles per hour. If you like rail photography, the Ramada Express Railroad is a turkey shoot, as the train moves very slowly and the photo opportunities are unlimited.
Left: The train makes a brief stop at Mohave Station. Right: Highball Mohave station! The steam engine, Number 7, is a 36" narrow gauge engine, with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. According to the engineer on duty, George, the engine was custom built for the Ramada Express Railroad in 1988, to promote the "identity" of the hotel/casino, and was built to loosely resemble the "Reno," a engine that operated on the famous Virginia and Truckee Railroad during the early part of the 20th century. In addition to George, Ramada Express Railroad employs two other qualified engineers, who double as mechanics when "Gambler" requires maintenance. "Gambler," has many modern innovations, probably unnoticed by most visitors, as she feature a very wide, air conditioned cab, (how many steam engines feature an air conditioned cab???) resembling the size of a cab of a standard-gauge engine, and computerized controls that allow only one crew member to operate the engine. "Gambler" is equipped with V.H.F. radio, so George can communicate with Ed, the conductor, who rides in the last car, and the main desk at the hotel, which I assume could be considered the dispatcher.
Left: With Laughlin and Arizona in the background, the Ramada Express Railroad crosses the line's spectacular wooden trestle. Right: Number 7 crosses the wooden trestle. Trains consist of two or three coaches, depending on the demand, all brightly painted and embossed with advertising of the activities that can be found at Ramada Express, which highlight the possibilities of the money you can win while gambling. The conductor, Ed, rides in the rear of the last coach, and has the duties to usher passengers onto the train when it makes its stops at "Casino" and "Mohave" stations, as he shouts an "All aboard!" in his baritone voice. Number Seven sports phony wood attached to the tender, but further examination will note that she burns propane. Yes, propane, the kind of stuff outdoor grill uses. You'll see the servicing facilities when you visit the "Engine Shop," including a propanel pump and a 1-1/2" water hose, used to fill the tender with water. Despite all of the modern innovations, Number Seven is a true steam engine, as she huffs and puffs, her rods turn her wheels, and she announces her presence with a bell, and a shrill steam whistle that really sounds like a steam engine! But since she burns propane, don't look for billowing clouds of black smoke, as their non-existant due to the environmentally-friendly nature of propane. Rarely used, but an active part of the roster, is Number 11, a Plymouth DDT, 15-ton diesel switcher, that sports the name of "Lucky Lady" on the side of her cab. Where did she come from? I asked around, and nobody seemed to know her history, but they did say that she's used only when #7 is down for maintenance, or when the railroad is performing maintenance of the right-of-way, on Thursday and Friday, when the passenger trains aren't running. Coupled behind #11 were a couple of flat cars loaded with supplies; the only flat cars that the railroad owns. Most tourists board the train at the "Casino Station," which is located at the front of the hotel along South Casino Drive, in Laughlin, in the railroad-station-facade building that front the casino/hotel. After an "All aboard" and a couple of toots of the shrill whistle, the train departs the station. It's only about a 100 yards until the train encounters the main entrance to the casino/hotel; personal vehicles have the right-of-way over the train, so the engineer has to gingerly ease the train over the road crossing. After negotiating the major road crossing, it's a highball to Mohave station, but its not as easy as you might expect, as there is a long stretch, about 300 yards, of 2% grade, as the railroad climbs to the "back forty" of the 27-acre property. After the long climb, a couple of sharp curves have to be negotiated, I'd estimate in the vicinity of around 44 degrees. Wow, that's sharp, even for a narrow gauge railroad!
Left: Look just ahead of Number 7, and you'll see a short, but very steep section of track that the train has to negotiate. Right: Number 7 is the "Little Engine That Can," as it has climbed the short, 30 feet of 4% track, and is heading toward Casino Station. Ramada Express Railroad is controlled by C.T.C., and the 3/4 mile railroad is divided into no less than 3 blocks, each controlled by red/green block signals. I could not believe my eyes as I noticed this, that a one-way, tourist railroad had a primitive form of C.T.C. that actually worked, and relied on block signals. C.T.C. actually is controlled from the desk of the hotel, which means that its operated from a computer and the desk clerk doesn't actually perform any operations to run the railroad. If the computer malfunctions, or the engineer has to use the radio to contact the desk clerk dispatcher, most likely the engineer will receive a "huhhhh?" from the dispatcher, who will in turn do a control-alternate-delete to the computer, to shut down the railroad. I can't vouch that this information is 100% accurate, as I talked to many people and nobody seemed to know anything, about anything, or at least wouldn't admit to it, but I think I've figured out how things work on the Ramada Express Railroad.
Left: Engine Shop, and the Plymouth diesel locomotive are located at the back side of the main hotel building. Right: Number 11, a.k.a. "Lucky Lady," poses at the Engine Shop, in back of the main hotel. The train ride negotiates a couple of very sharp curves, which would probably measure in the 44 degree range, at the extreme western end of the 27-acre property, where the RVs are allowed to camp for free. After passing the two sharp curves, the train will stop at Mohave Station, where RV campers can board the train, which will take them to Casino Station, where most of the passengers will leave the train, so they can enjoy the entertainment at the hotel's casino. After leaving Mohave station, the tracks swing to the north, and then cross over the road to the hotel's parking garage over a spectacular, curved, wooden trestle. After crossing the trestle, the tracks wind their way through the dark canyon, that crosses the gulf between the hotel's two towers. It's not that easy though, as due to some engineering quirk, there is a short section, only about 60 feet, of 4% grade, that must be negotiated before the train can reach the tracks that lead to the Engine Shop. After Engine Shop is passed, it's an uneventful 200 yard ride to "Casino Station."
Left: The train pulls into Casino Station. Note the sign that advertises "Free Rides" and the large, ornamental brakewheel on the rear of the train. Right: The train has pulled into Casino Station and is ready to take on more passengers. How much does it cost to ride the Ramada Express Railroad? As the engineer on the day to my visit explained, "its free," but he added that a smile will also procure you an all-day pass on the railroad. Although
Ramada Express Railroad is a very interesting operation,
it's not exactly worth a 100-mile detour to visit. If you're
visiting Laughlin, and you have some time to yourself, as your
significant other attempts to pay off the house, playing the
progressive slot machines, pay Ramada Express Railroad
a visit, and you'll be rewarded to an interesting, 21st century,
steam operation, which prides itself on promoting its image
to the visitors of Laughlin. Ramada
Express Hotel/Casino Copyright(c) 2007 Eric's Enterprises, Etc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since January 19, 2005. Web page design has been created by Eric's Enterprises, Etc., website design, and more...
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