Northwest Railway Museum Blog

Studio Snoqualmie

2012-05-28T12:52:00.002-07:00

Former NP stock car is positioned for filming inside the Train Shed exhibit building. Lights! Camera! Work Extra 4024, take it ahead! Not quite what you were expecting? The Northwest Railway Museum was briefly transformed into a movie studio for the production of You Can’t Win, a screen play adapted from the literary work of the same name. Filming at the Museum of this independent

Salute!

2012-05-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

In honor of Memorial Day, the Northwest Railway Museum is offering reduced fare train rides for members of the military: active duty, guard, reserve, retired, and their dependent families. See the splendid scenery of the Cascade Foothills through the windows of a vintage railcar. Your current military id and $5 are all you need for a ride on the Museum’s train Saturday, May 26 –

Clerestory windows for the chapel car

2012-05-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

Let there be light, and some fresh air too! One of the distinguishing features of most traditional clerestory-roofed railroad cars is the clerestory window. Designed to provide both light and ventilation, the windows are typically elongated and have hinges that allow the windows to “roll” into the car. Chapel car 5 - built in 1898 in an era before air conditioning - was built with 45

Chapel car secrets Pt 2

2012-05-04T07:20:00.002-07:00

Part 1 was published on February 27 and described a business card for H. J. Geisler's tasting room that was discovered hidden in the roof structure of chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace. The car was built at Dayton, Ohio's Barney and Smith Car Company in 1898. So who was H.J. Giesler? Thanks to some clever research by volunteer Doris A., his identity is much clearer. H.J. Geisler was Henry J.

From Bad to Beautiful - inspired by you

2012-04-19T01:27:00.032-07:00

Last year, The Seattle Foundation orchestrated an incredible one-day online giving event that - thanks to you - raised nearly $19,000 for the Northwest Railway Museum. It was the most successful single day of giving in the Museum’s history.This year on May 2, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, GiveBIG is happening again. But it's no same-old, same-old. Inspired by your recent comments on our

Trains are running again!

2012-04-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Jackson tamper was introduced in the 1950s on the Northern Pacific Railway and continues in a new role at the Northwest Railway Museum. It has been an unusually long winter in the Northwest but spring weather has finally arrived. Track machines and crews have been working on the railroad and trains are running again between North Bend and Snoqualmie Falls. Check out this season’s

Chapel car secrets Pt 1

2012-02-27T22:15:00.002-08:00

Rehabilitation of a landmark property invites many opportunities to learn from the object. The chapel car rehabilitation is no exception - the structure has been largely untouched since it was built at Dayton, Ohio in 1898 and there is much to learn from it. Work on the car's roof began in January 2012 and in late February an unusual discovery was made: a business card for H. J. Geisler at a

New interpretive signs at the Depot

2012-02-15T14:21:00.010-08:00

Thanks to a recent donation from the 4th Division/Pacific Northwest Region/National Model Railroad Association specifically marked for education, the Museum has designed and produced three new interpretive signs for large objects at the Snoqualmie Depot. The signs were fabricated by Fossil Industries, Inc. in New York. Fossil is considered a leader in outdoor sign fabrication. (From their website

Clampers with a Messenger of Peace

2012-02-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

Late last month The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (“ECV”) gave a day of service to the chapel car Messenger of Peace rehabilitation. The Doc Maynard Chapter 54-40 brought 14 member volunteers to sand windows in preparation for shellac, move the kitchen stove in, prepare moldings for installation on the outside of the car, strip paint from the interior floor, prepare castings for

Looking back at 2011

2012-01-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

2012 has started out with heavy weather including heavy rain, over 9 inches of snow and an ice storm. So as we complete our latest storm recovery, it is appealing to recollect some of the achievements for 2011. In February 2011, rehabilitation of chapel car 5 Messengerof Peace began in earnest. A crew of three worked full time on the car and completed all the car body structural repairs. By

Another successful Santa Train event

2011-12-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

Zoe (Santa's oldest elf) and Ms. Claus joined Santa in greeting children and preparing the list of who is naughty and nice. Santa Train is the Northwest Railway Museum's premier event; it has been a Northwest tradition for 43 years. Visitors travel on a 2 hour excursion on a century-old train from North Bend to Snoqualmie, visit with Santa and enjoy refreshments

Recollections of a Santa

2011-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

The Patron Saint of Children has been a frequent visitor to the Northwest Railway Museum ever since seasonal programming began in 1969. He is an integral part of Santa Train and has brought joy to generations of children. Santa Train is in its 43rd season and will serve more than 11,000 visitors during eight days of sold-out operation. The event is an important opportunity to attract a

Pew with a view: seats for the chapel car

2011-11-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

Chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace was built with a full complement of pews. Unfortunately changes in use and 113 years of history resulted in the loss of all the originals. But the Messenger of Peace had four “siblings” - they were other chapel cars built to the same plan by the Barney and Smith Car Company. And as fate would have it, a pew from Herald of Hope was donated to the American Baptist

Chapel car milestone

2011-10-24T21:21:00.001-07:00

Chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace has been undergoing rehabilitation for over 9 months. A full time crew of carpenters and other preservation specialists has been reversing the effects of 112 years of deterioration and decay. Considering the car is just 78 feet long, the scope is massive. Frame repairs, new or repaired exterior cladding, new windows, repaired interior paneling and new trucks are

1,000 likes and climbing

2011-10-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Milestones. Sometimes we celebrate them with great fanfare. Sometimes with quiet delight. For the Museum, both kinds of milestones happened one day recently.THE FANFARE Train whistles. Trumpets. Remarks by People with Titles. The Northwest Railway Museum celebrated the Grand Opening of the Train Shed September 17 with a happy crowd of members, donors, volunteers and other supporters. It’s a

Day of Caring at NRM

2011-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Every year in September, United Way organizes Day of Caring where thousands of volunteers all take the day off from work and volunteer in their community. United Way asks non-profit organizations to sponsor projects and then group leaders - mostly from companies - sign up for projects and organize volunteers to work on those projects. This year, on September 16, 2011, the Northwest Railway Museum

Train Shed grand opening

2011-09-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

September 17, 2011 was a momentous occasion for the 54-year-old Northwest Railway Museum. That occasion was the grand opening of the Train Shed exhibit and collection storage building, a project 54 years in the making. 137 invited guests joined together to hear live music, inspirational speeches, and to see the rehabilitated White River Lumber Company locomotive 1 and caboose 001 roll into the

Railroad Days revisit

2011-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Snoqualmie Railroad Days has been part of Snoqualmie for 73 years; the Northwest Railway Museum has managed the event for the last three years. Railroad Days celebrates Snoqualmie's history as a railroad and logging town, but also as home to the Snoqualmie Nation of Native Americans/First Nations people. Railroad Days 2011 was a tremendously successful event with an estimated 10,000 participants

Weyerhaeuser Timber Company locomotive 1

2011-08-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

The White River Branch was a Weyerhaeuser operation near Enumclaw in east King County, Washington. They had a logging railroad that stretched to the outer reaches of Mount Rainier National Park, and a spur line that connected with the Northern Pacific Railway and Milwaukee Road. In 1951 "a great yellow beast" (as described in the company’s newsletter) arrived to replace a steam locomotive and

I've been working on the railroad as an engineer

2011-07-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

“The engineer is in charge of and responsible for the locomotive as well as the mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all train handling.” In other words, the engineer controls the locomotive. Historically people apprenticed for the position of engineer by being the fireman.A steam locomotive fireman spent most of his time maintaining pressure in the boiler -- shoveling coal into

Day Out With Thomas 2011

2011-07-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

The very useful engine completed his annual visit to the Northwest Railway Museum on July 17, 2011 and by all accounts it was a successful and happy time for thousands of children. Live music, motor car rides, historical artifacts, and model trains were just a few of the many things to see and do at Day Out With Thomas 2011 in Snoqualmie, Washington. This event marked the tenth annual visit

Reconstructing a railroad crossing

2011-07-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Crossings are the interface between a railroad and a roadway or trail. The Northwest Railway Museum has 23 crossings; 13 of those are public crossings of local streets, arterials, or major thoroughfares including a State highway. All of these crossings require ongoing maintenance; the majority of the wear and tear is caused by truck and automobile traffic. To meet the needs of today's

Congratulations 4Culture!

2011-07-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

4Culture’s funding source has been extended into the foreseeable future with the Washington State Legislature’s passage of ESSB 5834. Governor Gregoire has signed the bill into law and it takes effect on August 24, 2011. Passage of the bill was the result of a seven year bipartisan effort by King County, the arts & heritage community, and thousands of cultural patrons. It was passed in the

Thomas arrives!

2011-06-30T20:31:00.001-07:00

The Museum's annual visit from Thomas the Tank Engine® is upon us!Today, Thursday, June 30, 2011, Thomas arrived in North Bend, WA. He traveled on a special truck from an event in Oregon and was unloaded in downtown North Bend by a team of the Museum's running trades volunteers. Bob L., Jeanette M., Jim H., Shawn M., Vern S., Dan C., Ken L., and Chuck S. all contributed to a successful move.Check

Monitoring the environment

2011-06-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

Museum collections are expected to last for a really long time. To preserve objects in a collection for a really long time, museums attempt to control the environmental factors that affect preservation. Too much light, humidity, heat and improper handling all contribute to deterioration. So with a conditioned building and good collections management practices, the likelihood of an object