Rail history
Las Vegas, a railroad town
How a railroad founded Las Vegas in 1905, when passenger trains stopped in 1997, and where to ride historic trains today in Boulder City.
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · 7 sources
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A town built by the railroad
The City of Las Vegas dates its birthday to May 15, 1905. On that day the railroad company began a two-day auction of 110 acres. The land was bounded by Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue on the south, Main Street on the west, and Fifth Street (today’s Las Vegas Boulevard) on the east.
The city’s history timeline says the completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, which linked Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. Water made the valley an ideal place for trains to refuel and stop. Las Vegas was incorporated six years later, on June 1, 1911, when voters approved incorporation 168 to 57.
When the passenger trains stopped
Amtrak passenger service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas ended in the spring of 1997.
- March 1997: the Los Angeles Times reported that Amtrak would halt its Los Angeles–Las Vegas–Salt Lake City line.
- May 8, 1997: the paper covered the last runs of the Desert Wind, under the headline “Demise of Desert Train Ends L.A.’s Amtrak Link to Las Vegas”.
Since then, there has been no Amtrak train between Southern California and Las Vegas.
The next chapter: Brightline West
Brightline West plans to bring passenger rail back with a 218-mile, all-electric high-speed line. It would run from a station on Las Vegas Boulevard south of the Strip to Rancho Cucamonga, which connects to Metrolink. The company’s current target is late 2029. Track it on our Brightline West explainer and the updates feed.
Ride history today: Boulder City
The Nevada State Railroad Museum at 1000 Boulder City Parkway in Boulder City operates excursion trains on the historic Nevada Southern Railway. According to the museum:
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Museum | Thursday–Monday, 9 AM–4 PM |
| Train rides | Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM, September through June |
| No rides | Christmas through Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and July–August |
| The ride | About a 10-mile round trip, roughly 45 minutes |
Fares, special events and any changes are posted on the museum’s tickets & fares page.
In town: the monorail
The Las Vegas Monorail runs on its own elevated guideway along the east side of the Strip, with 7 stations between MGM Grand and SAHARA Las Vegas. The LVCVA has owned it since December 9, 2021.