To Daphne DeLeon, trains aren’t just trains—they’re symbols of American history and innovation. She’s the new director of the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. DeLeon has a master’s degree in history and archival management from the University of California, Riverside, and previously worked for Nevada’s bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Nevada State Archives. Learn more about the museum at www.carsonrailroadmuseum.org.
How did you get involved with the railroad museum?
The museum has a long history of managing educational and cultural-heritage programs. I’m trained as an archivist, and when I first came to Nevada in 2007, I served as a state librarian, and in those years from 2007 to 2016, I got a good idea of the depth of the history here in Nevada, and how sometimes it’s overlooked. So when I knew that this position was opening at the State Railroad Museum in Carson City, I jumped at the opportunity to apply, because it’s a perfect opportunity to highlight the value and depth of Nevada history.
Had you been interested in trains before?
No, and that’s what’s interesting about being here in Nevada. I’ve been exposed to the fascination of history in motion. Being able to see a locomotive moving as it operated 150 years ago, hear it, smell it and ride on it—that’s what drove me to apply to become the director of the museum.
What is the allure with trains? Is it some kind of Old West romanticism?
The West is very much iconic of the American identity abroad and throughout the U.S. Once you get onsite, and you see the locomotives, your visceral reaction to them—of their size and their ability to still operate—it’s fascinating, because you can see the mechanics; you can look at the exhibit and understand how it works. So much of our mechanics nowadays is hidden and driven by computers. If you look at your car, sometimes you can’t even see where many parts of the engine are, because it’s all encapsulated.
If you look at the American identity, the foundation, its movement and migration—the railroad arrived in Nevada in 1867. The V&T railroad started operating between Carson City and Virginia City in 1869. Actually, interestingly enough, it was the Gold Rush in California that brought the need for a transcontinental railway to be built, and the Central Pacific was chosen as the railroading company in California. …
I think people forget or sometimes don’t realize that when the railroads were at their height, they were at the leading edge of innovation and the leading edge of technology, and based on those mechanics of the steam engine, it was the foundation for our manufacturing industry today.
One thing that makes us very different here at the Railroad Museum in Carson City is that we restore, to operating condition, our locomotives in-house with our staff. We don’t outsource them at all, so we grow that knowledge here in Nevada. … Book learning needs to be complemented by hands-on learning, and that’s the way you find and inspire innovation. I believe that we have a role here at the Railroad Museum in Carson City to be able to provide that hands-on experience to our K-12—or even our K-20—students here in Nevada.
What do you think the future holds for the railroad in Nevada?
I think there’s always a place for railroading as we see it now in modern days, because there’s always a need to move freight—and to a lesser extent, passengers—in a very economical way, especially with the weather and the terrain that we have here. In terms of railroading history here in Nevada, I think it is emblematic of the development not only of Nevada, but of the U.S. in terms of the movement of freight and people … I think there is always going to be a role for railroads in the modern U.S., and the history of railroading will always be relevant.