Iron Horse Cookery Cook Off

Cook a meal on the Fireman’s Shovel of a steam Locomotive!

The Nevada Northern Railway has been acclaimed as the “Most authentic and best preserved historic railroad facility in America.” But it isn’t just about preserving the equipment. That’s an important part of it, but the railroad is also all about preserving the stories of the people, mostly first-generation immigrants, who worked there.

The NNRY did not invent cooking in the firebox of a steam locomotive here. That was the ingenuity of the early train crews. “During the day” train crews worked long days – sometimes 16 or 18 hours in a single day. They could not take a break and go get breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The lived on the locomotive during their shift. They improvised food as they could, and often cooked on the locomotive.