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 year end, more than 7,000
hours had been invested in the project and all the exterior cladding was being
applied. Other highlights include manufacture
of replacement windows and the draft and platform sills.
In March and April, a major track rehabilitation project was
performed. Back in August 2010 an engineering
decision made by another local company caused the railroad at Snoqualmie Falls
to shift. The rehabilitation project was
funded by that company and removed the affected track that parallels the
Snoqualmie Falls Generating Station plant.
The underlying soils were excavated and new railroad ballast was placed
and compacted. Then, the track – along with
about 30% replacement ties - was reconstructed, aligned, leveled and tamped.
In June, Cristy L. joined the Northwest Railway Museum as
the full time volunteer coordinator. She
has volunteer and collections management experience, and degree in history &
historical archeology. She has already
made a huge difference during events, regular train operations, in the CRC and with apply volunteer skills to the Museum's many other needs.
Also in June, the Museum participated in the Seattle Foundation's first-ever GiveBig event and raised almost $19,000 in support! Many donor funds were matched by their employers such as Boeing and Microsoft. All donor's funds were matched by the Seattle Foundation's match pool further leveraging their gifts. (Watch for GiveBig again in 2012!)
Also in June, the Museum participated in the Seattle Foundation's first-ever GiveBig event and raised almost $19,000 in support! Many donor funds were matched by their employers such as Boeing and Microsoft. All donor's funds were matched by the Seattle Foundation's match pool further leveraging their gifts. (Watch for GiveBig again in 2012!)
In July, the Meadowbrook Way SE railway crossing was
reconstructed. Funded by the City ofSnoqualmie along with generous support from the Snoqualmie Casino this two lane
crossing was rebuilt with welded rail, oak ties, new ballast and concrete
crossing panels. The City of Snoqualmie
then repaved the entire road, which is the secondary gateway to downtown
Snoqualmie and the Northwest Railway Museum.
In August, the Museum unveiled locomotive 1, a Fairbanks
Morse model H 12-44 that was used by the White River Lumber Company (Weyerhaeuser)
at their Enumclaw operation in east King County. This project was funded by the
National Railway Historical Society and private donors. Volunteers performed most of the work.
The highlight of the year was the grand opening of the new
exhibit building at the Railway History Center.
This followed construction – largely by the Museum’s volunteers - of
more than 1,000 feet of track and five turnouts allowing the first rail cars to
be moved into the building. On September
17, invited guests joined the trustees, volunteers and staff to formally open
the building to the public.
In October, the Museum's Facebook page received its 1,000th like!
In October, the Museum's Facebook page received its 1,000th like!
2011 was also a successful year for attendance too. 11,039 people – a Museum record – attended
Santa Train, and impressive numbers were recorded for Railroad Days in August,
Day Out With Thomas in July and Halloween Train in October.
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