Thinning the forest

Earlier this year, the Museum's Train Shed Exhibit Hall was struck by a falling tree.  A sudden wind storm had caught the crown of the more than 120-foot tall tree and laid it across the Train Shed roof.  Repair costs topped more than $140,000, and would have been very disruptive had it not been for the pandemic.  This was the second tree strike in 10 years so the Museum's leadership ordered a tree health study.

A certified arborist studied all the trees within 150 feet  of the campus structures, and the results were concerning: more than a dozen hemlock trees had developed root rot.  Unfortunately, the western hemlock is susceptible to several species of fungus that attack the roots.  Naturally, that weakens a tree's resistance to wind.  The resulting root rot has been implicated in the tree fall earlier this year.

A local tree service was engaged to remove the diseased trees, along with several over-mature cottonwood trees.  With the closeness of the buildings and railroad, most of the trees were brought down two feet at a time.  A logger climbed to the top of each such tree and beginning with the crown cut off two feet at a time and worked his way down.

The logging operation was an unfortunate necessity in protecting the Museum's collections.  However, there is a silver lining: the felled trees are being cut up to use as fuel in the 924, or at least after the wood seasons in six months or so.

Trains are operating!

Beware of logging trucks!  The Snoqualmie Valley continues to host a variety of silviculture businesses, including active logging operations.  It is quite common to see fully loaded trucks rambling through town and across the tracks, generally with a high degree of safety.  

Unfortunately, on Friday, December 4 one such trailer failed to negotiate the turn from Railroad Avenue on the Snoqualmie Parkway. The resulting carnage seriously injured a motorist, destroyed a car, and took out the center median crossing signals for the Snoqualmie Parkway.

The crossing signal mast and signal will be down for the count.  Siemens Rail Automation will be shipping a replacement assembly in a few weeks, and until then a railroad flagman will be in position whenever trains cross the Snoqualmie Parkway.  So the Yuletide Express will operate as scheduled for the next few weeks, and there will be one more person on hand to waive at Santa as he rolls on by!

Yuletide Express

The Covid-19 pandemic is continuing its impact on Washington State, and public events remain under suspension.  Unfortunately, this means the annual Santa Train - an event that has run every year since 1969 - has been canceled.  The Museum is instead offering a holiday-themed train excursion called Yuletide Express.  The Yuletide Express offers a safe, fun, and uplifting experience for families.  

Participants enjoy a 25 minute train excursion to Snoqualmie Falls.  Santa is riding the train and presenting boys and girls with a small gift, and as participants detrain they receive two cookies from the Pacific Cookie Company.  Life-sized photographic portraits of Santa are positioned at the Snoqualmie Depot to provide for a safe photo opportunity with Santa.  

Yuletide Express is a shorter, less intimate experience than Santa Train, but it complies with all the applicable guidelines for railroads from the Centers for Disease Control.  In keeping with these guidelines, masks are mandatory and the requirement is enforced for everyone five years of age and older.  The train well ventilated with windows or doors open throughout.

The Yuletide Express is operating weekends from Snoqualmie through December 19.  Tickets at $24 and are available at shop.TrainMuseum.org  

924 on the point

The Northwest Railway Museum has substantially completed a major rehabilitation effort on steam locomotive 924. Sunday, November 1, 2020 was a beautiful fall day in the Snoqualmie Valley, and the 924 was under steam to pull its first passenger train in more than 40 years. This momentous occasion occurred six years to the day after the locomotive was retrieved from long term storage and moved to the Museum's Conservation and Restoration Workshop.

   

History - Locomotive 924 was a product of the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, and is a light switcher with an 0-6-0 wheel arrangement. It was built in 1899 for the St Paul and Duluth in Minnesota, but by 1901 it was under ownership of the Northern Pacific Railway and was reassigned to the Puget Sound region. It served in Western Washington until 1923 and went on to serve the Inland Empire Paper Company near Spokane.

Highlights - During its first 24 years of service, the locomotive saw a numerous changes, many of which were required to correct damage caused by dock failures, switching accidents, and regulatory changes. As part of the effort to research and recognize the importance of the 924, it was nominated to the King County and City of Snoqualmie Landmarks Register.  For the restoration efforts, a period of significance between about 1906 and 1908 was selected allowing a replica of the second cab (it had at least three) to be fabricated and installed. The selection of that period also dictated the selection of a headlight, lettering style, size and location of air tanks, pilot beam size and shape, the boiler jacketing material, location of running board, and the appearance of the spot plate on the smokebox front.

Selecting a fuel - The 924 was built to burn coal, a fuel that transformed the world in an industrial revolution. Coal is not readily available in Western Washington, and it has some negative environmental implications. So the Museum has committed to burning wood products instead of coal.  For the time being, 924 is burning Douglas fir firewood, and lumber cutoffs from the Conservation and Restoration Workshop.

Performing the work - Much of the effort to rehabilitate a steam locomotive could be characterized as loosely directed labor accentuated with highly skilled machining.  The total effort may approach 20,000 hours, but some aspects of the work have entailed a significant learning curve. And certainly it would not have been possible to undertake the work without highly skilled individuals including Jon B., Gerry P., Steven B., Josh K., Gary J., Brian W., Mike D., Lyle E. and others.  Together, they have conspired to overcome the secrets of a largely forgotten manufacturing process completed more than 121 years ago.

Funding the work - Steam locomotive rehabilitation is costly work, and for the 924 is valued at more than $700,000.  The effort would not be possible without generous support from individuals, foundations, companies, and public funders, but also the generous volunteers who donated their time and talents.  Washington Heritage Capital Fund was the largest funder.  Important support was received from hundreds of individuals, King County 4Culture, The Emery Rail Trust, Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, Osberg Family Foundation, the Schwab Fund, Boeing Match, Microsoft Match, and more.  The Northwest Railway Museum is very grateful for this generous support.

Watching the spectacle - A key objective in rehabilitating a steam locomotive is to be able to demonstrate it for the public.  The 924 will still require ongoing work - budgets were just not large enough to replace or renew every working part, which could easily have exceeded costs of more than $1 million.  However, the locomotive is compliant with applicable regulations and will be operating regularly on the Museum's interpretive railway between North Bend and Snoqualmie Falls.  The locomotive will make another appearance later this year, and then appear regularly in 2021.

All Aboard! Train Excursions Resume

The call of "All Aboard" rang out loud and clear on Saturday, October 3rd as weekend train ride excursions began for the first time in 2020. With online tickets in hand (or on cell phones), passengers of all ages arrived filled with excitement to enjoy the beauty of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley via the historic train. While carefully following the Safe Start rules of social distancing and mask usage, this season's train rides give passengers a sense of what it was like a century ago to visit the region. And in the hustle & bustle and stress of modern life, it lets everyone slow down and just enjoy the ride.   

Take A Ride

Boarding the train at either the Snoqualmie Depot or the North Bend Depot, guests enjoy the panorama of life along 5.5 miles of the original 1889 Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. Featuring views of the Snoqualmie River and stately Mount Si, the train rambles over historic Bridge 35, passes by historic heritage fruit trees and lets guests see the dramatic drop below Snoqualmie Falls. At times, members of the infamous North Bend Elk herd may be spotted! 

Passing through Snoqualmie and North Bend, passengers glimpse buildings that represent the area's past, present and future and provide interesting post-ride shopping and dining experiences! And all of the train excursions include the opportunity for guests to enjoy a drive up visit to the Train Shed Exhibit Hall, during its open hours, at their leisure. In the Train Shed, the story of how the railroad changed everything unfolds along a one way path featuring large and small pieces from the Museum's collection.

 

Seasonal Train Rides

This season, look for holiday themed rides - Halloween Excursion and the Yuletide Express. Although past favorites (Halloween Storytelling and Santa Trains) are not available this year, the holiday spirit can't be dampened aboard the historic train. So come join the fun! Find out more and reserve your tickets for all of the 2020 train rides today. We look forward to seeing you and can't wait to greet you with a welcoming shout of  "All Aboard!"

Thanks for making it all possible

The Northwest Railway Museum is particularly grateful for direct public support that is helping it weather the crisis.  Reopening of the Museum has been made possible with generous support awarded by 4Culture, the City of Snoqualmie, HumanitiesWA, and the Washington State Library.

Bellingham Railway Museum

The Covid-19 crisis has been particularly difficult for museums.  The Northwest Railway Museum has been able to survive - at least so far - with a combination of public and private grants and loans.  Other historical societies and museums have not been quite as fortunate.  

The Bellingham Railway Museum was established in 2003 and located in historic downtown Bellingham.  It was notable for its awesome model railway exhibits, and was popular with young families.  Yet despite significant local support, it could not survive the closure forced by the Covid-19 crisis.  In June, its Board of Trustees announced that the temporary closure would be permanent.  

In Washington State, non-profits are generally expected to designate a succession plan in the event of its demise.  During the dissolution of a nonprofit, the Washington State Attorney General has the final approval of the distribution of a organization's assets.  The Attorney General is interested primarily in seeing that the assets remain with an organization of similar purpose.

The Northwest Railway Museum was listed as the Bellingham Railway Museum collection's successor, and was contacted early in the summer about the dissolution.  The Bellingham group was located in rented space so the Museum worked quickly to inventory, pack and move the collection to Snoqualmie.  Volunteers and staff spent countless hours in Bellingham preparing for the move, packing more than 400 file record boxes.

The effort was led by Cristy L., the Museum's Registrar.  A museum registrar is responsible for implementing policies and procedures pertaining to collection care.  This includes maintaining a collection inventory, knowing where everything in a collection is located, and protecting every aspect of its well-being including environment and security. 

The demise of any museum is a community tragedy, and a loss to all involved.  Yet the Northwest Railway Museum is trying to make the best of it, and is immediately incorporating the best aspects of the Bellingham collection into exhibits in the Train Shed.  Initially, this includes the Lionel train set, a dining car china collection, several lanterns and signal lamps, and a series of posters.

The Museum extends condolences to the Volunteers, Trustees and Staff of the Bellingham Railway Museum and to the Bellingham community for their loss, and gratitude to former Bellingham Railway Museum Executive Director Shelissa G. for her invaluable assistance in helping with the transition.

The Northwest Railway Museum gratefully acknowledges King County 4Culture and the Cares Act Reopen grant awarded in part to support the processing and move of the Bellingham Railway Museum collection to Snoqualmie.

Critical Times Need Critical Support

How is the Northwest Railway Museum handling the pandemic?  This is arguably the most difficult period in the Museum's 63 year history, and continued community support is critical to recovery.  Notwithstanding, the Museum has used the closure to perform upgrades.  Exhibits, artifacts, and even publications are getting attention, and we are confident the Museum’s audience will see and appreciate the difference.

Notably, The Museum's publication, The Sounder, was redesigned in an effort led by Lee Ater of LOT22.  The changes bring the newsletter into line with branding standards, easier to produce and make it more visually interesting.

Meanwhile, with the expectations for reopening the Museum came an opportunity to upgrade exhibits. This resulted in more interpretive content, and transformed the hall into a more visually-interesting experience, both of which are vital to attracting and retaining an audience.

Sadly, many pandemic-related orders are affecting the Museum in truly negative ways.  The continuing prohibition on events is particularly damaging because it devastates both audience and income.  And even if events were permitted in King County, they would be limited to just 50 people. Unfortunately, none of the Museum’s events are economically viable when serving smaller groups.

The Museum is unable to host Halloween or Santa Train this year. However, we are improvising, and hope you will attend our alternative Safe Start activities! Beginning October 3, the Museum will operate regular train ride excursions, using  social distancing practices, most weekends through the end of the year.  At Halloween and during the Christmas season, trains will operate with appropriate holiday themes such as the Yuletide Express, but guests will remain on board for the duration of their visit.  We know this may not be to everyone’s liking, but it does appear to be the Museum’s best practical alternative that keeps staff, volunteers and visitors safe, and complies with the law. 

Externally, we sadly share that the pandemic has been particularly difficult for all museums. The Bellingham Railway Museum closed its doors in March, and it was soon apparent that it would never reopen. NRM staff and volunteers worked with their officers and former staff to ensure their collection is preserved, and remains in the public domain. Over the summer the collection was boxed up and moved to Snoqualmie. Their beloved Lionel 027 layout has been reassembled in the Train Shed, and will soon be operational. We extend our heart-felt condolences to their staff and volunteers for their loss—closing a museum is heart-breaking.

Your Support is Critical

We wish to thank you for your continued support during these uncertain times. The Northwest Railway Museum is dynamic and successful in part because of people just like you. Now, during the Covid-19 crisis, we need your support more than ever. Please consider helping to sustain the Museum in any of the following ways:

Become a member  |  Make a donation  |  Patronize the gift shop  |  Become a volunteer   |  Visit the Museum

Visit TrainMuseum.org to find out how you can help.

Not everything about 2020 has been negative. The happiest news of the year remains the success of steam locomotive 924. Despite challenges, the 924 has successfully operated under its own power this year. Like the chapel car 5 project before it, the 924 work generated more questions than expected, but the skillful dedication of museum volunteers and staff have allowed work to continue. We hope you will be able to join us for the first run this fall—check TrainMuseum.org for updates.

Interpreting Railways' Impact

Interpretation (an explanation as a way of teaching) is more effective when it is applied in a planned and thematic way. The Northwest Railway Museum’s Interpretive Plan establishes guidelines for sharing interpretive themes used in messaging and communication with visitors. It shapes the major themes that will bring visitors to our doors again and again over the years. It outlines the facilities needed to support the Museum’s collections and best enable the staff to effectively operate the Museum in a sustainable and efficient manner. It imagines a dynamic institution at the heart of the community—one in which the Northwest Railway Museum shares the stories of people and railways that engage both area residents and visitors from afar. The Plan codifies the Museum’s adherence to professional standards, best practices, and codes of ethics as defined by the American Association of Museums and American Association for State and Local History. In this way, activities and other forms of implementation arise from a clear direction and documented list of tasks or actions, all based on sound reasoning.

The Northwest Railway Museum began development of the Railway History Campus in 2006, and continues its growth. Staff developed interpretive themes for the focus of exhibits. Beginning with the original interpretive themes identified in the 2010-2012 Train Shed Exhibit Hall exhibit planning, staff began expanding original interpretive themes to create a cohesive plan for interpretation across the Museum’s sites. Exhibit topics were selected based on workshop participation by the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Exhibits Committee during that period. This featured a multi-phase exhibit plan for the Train Shed Exhibit Hall which included an exhibit sharing how the development of the transcontinental railways fueled western expansion; an exhibit on how railways then impacted the Pacific Northwest; interpretive panels on each of the historic artifacts on display; and exhibits focusing on how the railway impacted diverse groups of people. It connected these themes to exhibits at the Snoqualmie Depot; creating an exhibit about the first railway into the Snoqualmie Valley, and connecting that exhibit to one on how the Snoqualmie Depot impacted Snoqualmie. Between 2010-2019 the Museum completed the first three phases and began working on the fourth phase with planned exhibits on Stewardess Nurses, Japanese-American Railway Workers, and Railway Workers of WWII (the Faces of the Railway exhibit). 

The Museum’s mission clearly describes two important themes: 1) the story of experiencing the excitement of a working railway; interpreting ways that visitors can be involved in the ongoing heritage and operations of trains.  And, 2) the story of how railroads influenced the development and settlement of Washington State and adjacent areas; interpreting how railways changed everything in the Pacific Northwest.

As the Museum has expanded exhibit offerings within the Train Shed Exhibit Hall, the plans for a fourth building, the Roundhouse Gallery, prompted the need to review and elaborate the Interpretive Plan just as the former plan neared completion and was due for review. This has coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic causing new social behavioral changes and social gathering size restrictions, which have necessitated new ways of envisioning traditional operating models.

Consequently, this spring the suspension of programming caused by the Covid-19 pandemic redirected efforts and allowed the Interpretive Plan and exhibits to be updated with additional content in the Train Shed Exhibit Hall.  Now, as visitors experience the Train Shed, they travel a directional route exploring how the arrival of the transcontinental railway changed settlement patterns, foodways, trade networks, leisure travel and industry. Additionally, they explore aspects of what people working for the railway have experienced with new exhibits on railway workers.  Additional exhibits will be arriving later this fall and winter expanding upon these stories with the installation of Asa Whitney’s Dream, an exhibit on railway car lighting, and an exhibit on the Japanese and Japanese-American logging railway workers of the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co. Tickets to visit the Train Shed Exhibit Hall are currently available at Shop.TrainMuseu
m.org.   

 

Train Shed reopens September 11

The Northwest Railway Museum is pleased to announce the planned reopening of the Train Shed Exhibit Hall. The Train Shed will reopen on Friday, September 11^th at 11 am, and is located in Snoqualmie at 9320 Stone Quarry Road.  It includes many of the Museum’s most significant artifacts including chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace, and a variety of exhibits about how the railway changed everything. The hall incorporates more than 24,000 square feet, and has not been able to reopen this year until now due to the pandemic. 

Beginning September 11, the Train Shed will be open every week until the Christmas season, Fridays through Sundays from 11 am - 4 pm, and on Wednesdays from 1 pm- 4 pm. Tickets are available online at shop.TrainMuseum.org and must be purchased in advance; adults are $10 and children are $5.

The pandemic has required the Museum to be closed for most of the season, which has until now been unprecedented.  Notwithstanding, the Museum will remain open unless guidelines change.  

To comply with Washington State's SAFE START – STAY HEALTHY plan to protect the health and safety of our community, up to ten people may enter every 15 minutes, and the Train Shed has been reconfigured with a new directional experience featuring refreshed and renewed exhibits. To ensure a safe experience, interactive exhibits requiring touch have been temporarily removed, and cleaning staff will be frequently disinfecting other touch surfaces including doors and restrooms.  All visitors over 2 years of age are asked to wear masks, and pursuant to state law, masks are required for all visitors over the age of 5 years old.

Members of the Northwest Railway Museum remain entitled to free, unlimited visits to the Train Shed.  For access, please contact visitor services manager Lara H by email or by calling 425.888.3030 extension 7202.

More on the 924 debut

The Museum's Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924 made a brief public appearance while testing earlier this month.  The 1899-built Rogers 0-6-0 has been undergoing rehabilitation and restoration for five years in the Museum's Conservation and Restoration Workshop. An earlier blog post shared some highlights of the two hour session, but today this blog features a few moving pictures of this milestone event.  This video shows some rare views from inside the cab, which are particularly clear because the roof of the cab had not yet been added.  The new boiler jacketing is also visible, which was applied from the outset to protect the safety of the cab crew.  

This author is also pleased to share news that the 924 will make another public appearance this fall - all aboard!

Snoqualmie Depot Exhibits Reopen

Since early March the Northwest Railway Museum and most other museums in the state have been closed by order of the Governor of Washington State and King County health officials to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. In June, the Museum reopened its bookstore but kept all exhibit and gallery spaces closed to help reduce the amount of people in contact with each other.  On August 20th, the Governor approved a new plan that allows museums to reopen in Phase 2 following new guidelines. The Northwest Railway Museum is now excited to begin the process of reopening! 

Because this Museum is such a large institution and has had to make many changes in its operation to comply with the new guidelines, the Museum will be reopening its sites in phases beginning with Snoqualmie Depot.  The Museum is pleased to announce that the Snoqualmie Depot and Bookstore are now reopened to the public! 

The Museum remains open at 25% capacity, so only 6 people may visit each room at a time but visitors may again enjoy the exhibits in the Freight Room and Waiting Room. There is now a new directional visit to each space. As you visit the Freight Room tour the space beginning on the left.  To visit the Waiting Room, enter the bookstore via a left loop and then tour the Waiting Room on a right loop, returning through the bookstore to finish the loop out. All visitors over 2 years of age are asked to wear masks and masks are required for all visitors over the age of 5 years old as per the Governor's reopening guidelines.

Following the reopening guidelines, all touchable interactive exhibits like the Train Tables have been temporarily removed. Though the Museum hopes to bring back these interactive exhibits when allowed, their removal creates a more open and less cluttered experience. You may notice new signage like this Please Do Not Touch Historic Artifact sign as part of the new guidelines.

The Museum's staff and volunteers are working diligently to reopen the other sites as quickly as possible. Stay tuned for further announcements as they become available!  The Train Shed Exhibit Building is being revamped with a new directional experience and additional exhibits. The Museum staff and volunteers look forward to sharing this space with you as soon as it is ready.

Riding The Suffrage Special

June 27, 1909 Seattle Times article.

August 18^th, 2020 marked the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving American women the right to vote! It was the culmination of decades long fighting and advocacy to grant women the ability to have a voice in the laws of the United States. Railways played a prominent role in suffrage advocacy by allowing the quick movement of political campaign stumpers. Two Suffrage Special trains, one in 1909 and another in 1916, played prominent roles in laying the ground work for the passing of the 19^th Amendment.

To commemorate the role that the Suffrage Special Trains played, the Museum put together a video based on the rear platform speeches given at stops by Suffrage leaders. The presentation details the role of Suffrage leader Anna Howard Shaw and uses a compilation of quotes from her speeches and letters throughout the years of her work. The video is one piece of a new Suffrage Train exhibit which will debut in the Train Shed Exhibit Building when the Museum reopens.

Anna Howard Shaw

 Anna Howard Shaw Background: Born in England in 1847, Anna moved to the United States at the age of four. At a time when women were expected to only marry and become mothers, she took a different path. At the age of 24 she became a Methodist preacher and without family support, entered Albion College and began a career lecturing on temperance (abstinence from alcoholic drink). In 1878, at the age of 31, she graduated from Boston University Divinity School but was not ordained until 1880 due to being female. She received her medical degree in 1886 from Boston University at the age of 39.

 In 1888, Anna attended the first meeting of the International Council of Women. Leading suffrage advocate Susan B. Anthony encouraged her to join the National Woman Suffrage Association where Anna played a key role in persuading the American Woman Suffrage Association to merge with the National Woman Suffrage Association. She was Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association under Susan B Anthony’s presidency and later became president of the Association herself.

King Street Station in Seattle, 1909

At the age of 62, she traveled on the 1909 Suffrage Special as it made its way across the country and throughout Washington State to attend the National American Woman Suffrage Association Convention in Seattle, which had been timed to coincide with the Alaska-Yukon–Pacific Exposition. It was believed that “the confluence of the widely publicized convention and the world's fair will help win supporters for women's right to vote.” Along the way she gave speeches from the rear platform of the train. Her work helped pass women’s suffrage in 1910 in Washington State. 

In her 70s, she performed home front war work during WWI and earned a Distinguished Service Medal in 1919. At the end of the war, at the request of President Wilson and former President Taft, she lectured in the U.S. and Europe in support of world peace and the League of Nations. During one of those tours she fell ill and died in July 1919 at the age of 72, just 13 months before her life’s work culminated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment.  

924 takes the main

In celebration of a social-distant, Snoqualmie Railroad Days lite, the Northwest Railway Museum was pleased to introduce to the community newly certified steam locomotive 924, an 1899 Roger's built 0-6-0 that served the Northern Pacific Railway in Washington until 1923, and continued in service for the Inland Empire Paper Company until donated to the Museum in 1969.

NPR 924 arrives at Snoqualmie on Aug 15, 2020

The open cab helped the crew tolerate temperatures in the 90s.

Northern Pacific Railway 0-6-0 924 has been undergoing rehabilitation and restoration for more than five years, and on Saturday, August 15, 2020, it finally had an opportunity to "strut its stuff" on the main track.  The operation was technically just a testing day, and was planned to check out - or prove - all the work that had been performed up until that time.  The 924 was accompanied by a combine car with several observers, and diesel-electric locomotive 4024 to provide a light braking load as desired, and to allow for safe backup movements.  And the day was a spectacular success: the only issues evident were already known to the 924's team.  

The 924 is temporarily sporting an open cab while plumbing is continuing to be adjusted.

How remarkable was Saturday's run?  The last time the 924 propelled itself up a main track Jimmy Carter was President, Amtrak was still introducing the original Superliners, and EMD/GMD's model SD40-2 locomotive was enjoying peak production. That was in 1979 when the 924 was on loan to the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad, and the 924 steamed its way down to the Burlington Northern mainline to greet British Columbia's Royal Hudson 2860 as it passed by on a tourism promotion tour.

Good lubrication, and appropriate procedures to apply it are essential on a steam locomotive of this vintage.  All the bearing surfaces are "plain" and if they run dry of oil, they will be quickly consumed.

The day was also an opportunity to continue the training process for crew members new to steam. The 924 has been set up to burn solid fuel, and there is a little more planning required before moving the locomotive.  Planning?  Solid fuel takes time to ignite so the fireman has to ensure the fire is already hot and the boiler is producing more steam before the engineer cracks open the throttle.  Otherwise, the locomotive will quite literally run out of steam.

Beginning this month, the 924 is now sporting its circa 1906 cab side lettering.

The original plan for Snoqualmie Railroad Days 2020 was to mark substantial completion of the 924 with steam powered excursions to commemorate the Suffrage Specials.  Two of those trains visited Washington State in the years leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave women the vote on August 18, 1920.  Unfortunately, the Covid 19 crisis allowed only social distant viewing of the 924; other elements of Snoqualmie Railroad Days were hosted on the web.

What's next?  The 924 will be getting some plumbing and running gear adjustments.  The tender will be painted.  The sand dome will be reinstalled.  And the volunteer crews will be practicing their wood chopping and chucking skills.

924 Testing

On a blistering-hot July 27, 2020, steam locomotive 924 emerged from its track inside the Conservation and Restoration Workshop for additional testing.  The 924 is an 1899-built 0-6-0 Rogers locomotive that served the Northern Pacific Railway in the Everett-Seattle-Tacoma region until 1923.  


The 924 has been undergoing a complete rehabilitation, with restoration to its appearance circa 1908.  Already, an investment of more than $500,000 has been made in this King County and City of Snoqualmie Landmark with support from local residents, museum volunteers, individual donors, 4Culture, Washington Heritage Capital Fund, the Emery Rail Trust, Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, Schwab Fund, and more.

Check out the moving pictures of the 924 in action:

The July 2020 testing was scheduled to prove the air brake system, most of which was re-plumbed with new schedule 80 piping giving the 924 a fully functional early 20th Century G-6 brake system.  Meanwhile, a number of minor boiler issues including some leaking stay bolts and boiler tubes were being re-tested to see if they had been successfully sealed.

The 924 was also put through a series of operating exercises, including pushing a braking diesel to simulate a load to check for things such as the efficacy of the cylinder packing.  The locomotive tender's new water tank was completely filled with water, but unfortunately did continue to experience several leaks, which will have to be sealed before the tank can be painted.  So not everything is perfect, but the 924 is 121 years old.  Yet aside from exceedingly high atmospheric temperatures, it was a perfect day to run a steam locomotive in the scenic Snoqualmie Valley.

Work on locomotive 924 is continuing and a public debut is expected later this season.  In the mean time, your support helps ensure this work can continue, and is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.  Please visit the Northwest Railway Museum's online donation portal to pledge your support.