Season's Greetings

Happy holidays from the Northwest Railway Museum!  

2018 has been another successful year for the Museum.  Thousands of guests were served and several project milestones were met.

Important achievements included acquisition of a Pullman-built parlor car, substantial progress on the steam locomotive 924 rehabilitation, successful nomination of interurban car 523 to the Landmarks Register, and the fabrication and installation of five rows of pews in chapel car 5.  However the really noteworthy achievement was again serving more than 120,000 guests (combined paid & unpaid) with at least one program, including more than 12,000 at the most-attended Santa Train ever. 

All of our regular staff - Elizabeth (volunteer coordinator), Bob (collection assistant), Cristy (registrar), Gary (collection technician), Jessie (deputy director), Traci (bookstore clerk), Lara (visitor services), and Jennifer (bookkeeper) join me in thanking you for your patronage and support, and in wishing you and your families the happiest of holidays and the very best in the New Year.

Richard R. Anderson
Executive Director

Season's Greetings

Jennifer, Richard, James , Peggy, Traci, Cristy,  Lara & Jessie

The Trustees and Staff of the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington are pleased to extend Season's Greetings to all our Volunteers, Patrons, Supporters, and Guests.  In 2016 generous support of made it possible to serve a combined paid and unpaid attendance of more than 130,000 people, improve the level of service by completing the new Railway Education Center, make significant progress on rehabilitation of locomotive 924, and expand the interpretive railway program to include a visit to the Train Shed exhibit building.  

Thank you for your support!

Successful Santa Train 2014

Last Saturday, the Northwest Railway Museum wrapped up a successful Santa Train, an event that was first hosted in 1969.  Reflecting on the eight-day event, 11,200 guests were served, more than 24,000 cookies were baked, about 320 gallons of hot cocoa were prepared, and 40 gallons of coffee were brewed.  This year's event also featured the first steam-powered Santa Train in 25 years.  In all, this was the largest Santa Train by numbers served, with 500 more guests than the previous record.

Many thanks are in order.  First and foremost, to the 61 volunteers that contributed time and talent to running the event and making it successful.  Volunteers put up seasonal decorations, served as Santa's helpers, addressed any problems as they occurred, served on the train crew, baked cookies, served the refreshments, helped in the gift shop, cleaned up garbage, and helped direct guests to Santa and the kitchen car.

Thanks are also in order to the many Museum supporters.  Many thanks to Continental Mills who donated Krusteaz cookie dough to the event; to the many media partners who helped spread the word; the City of Snoqualmie parks staff who helped clean the restrooms in the Snoqualmie Depot; the Si View Park District who maintained the restrooms in the North Bend Depot; the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce staff who helped publicize the event and host the ice rink for several days in downtown Snoqualmie; 4Culture and City of Snoqualmie who provided sustained support grants to the Museum using lodging taxes collected at the Salish Lodge and Spa, and hotels and motels across King County; and last but certainly not least, anyone who helped support the event who Spike has inadvertently omitted from this important list.

There are also thanks owed to the Museum's Board of Trustees who provide the governance and oversight that allow this event to continue, to the part and full-time staff who work additional hours to ensure the event operated smoothly (even helping clean the restrooms!), and especially to the two very talented Santa actors and their two elf actors!

And thanks to all the guests who purchased tickets, enjoyed the event, and made all the other efforts worthwhile!

Seasons Greetings from all of us at the Northwest Railway Museum.

Giving Thanks in 2009

15 things the Northwest Railway Museum is thankful for (in no particular order):

1. Sprinkler systems! (The Snoqualmie Depot was spared from major fire damage by sprinkler heads located on the structure’s exterior.)

2. Successful flood recovery. (On January 8 the Museum experienced the most significant flood event in its history and recovered in time to operate trains in April as scheduled.)

3. Broad base of community support from a truly successful community. (Participation through programs, volunteering, contributing funds, donating goods and services, and helping protect the museum from fire, flood and even petty crime.)

4. Popular programs. (2009 experienced record-setting participation in the Museum’s programs.)

5. Beautiful scenery in a great location. (A beautiful location helps the Museum be successful, and is part of railroad's legacy in the Northwest.)

6. A Collection of Northwest railway history truly representative of the region. (Locomotives, a depot, bridges, freight cars, coaches, lanterns, books, photographs, maps, and examples of pretty much anything else imaginable that was used to build, operate or maintain a railroad.)

7. Great volunteers. (Over 200 people have participated this year in everything from flood recovery to staffing all programs.)

8. Dedicated staff. (Five full time and four part time staff provide management and general support for museum programs.)

9. Supportive local government (Snoqualmie, North Bend and King County have all helped the Museum become more successful.)

10. Awesome elected officials at all levels of government from the City of Snoqualmie Council all the way to Congress.

11. Irreplaceable support from the State of Washington and the United States. (Together, the State and Federal government are funding nearly 40% of the new Train Shed.)

12. Museum members. (Membership remains as one of the Museum’s critical support mechanisms.)

13. Generous funders. (Recent new support received from 4Culture, North American Railway Foundation, the Quest for Truth Foundation, the City of Snoqualmie and dozens of individuals.)

14. Effective and dedicated Board of Trustees. (Museum is governed by 11 volunteer trustees. Members include rail historians, museum volunteers, and community representatives.)

15. The best bells and whistles of any museum in the County!

Scouts improve safety and security

Troup 466 of the Boy Scouts of America. Quite a remarkable troop actually. In the last several years they have turned out more than a dozen Eagle Scouts. In fact so many Eagle Scouts that it is easy to forget that becoming an Eagle Scout is a remarkable achievement, and is not common place.

So the remarkable Alex C. planned his obligatory Eagle Scout project last spring. He offered to undertake a project at the Northwest Railway Museum. And the Museum came up with quite a project: 400 feet of fencing to improve safety and security. 400 feet of fence to keep accidental trespassers from wandering onto an active railroad. 400 feet of fence to keep the not so accidental trespassers from doing, well, inappropriate things.

More than 16 people participated under Alex's direction (14 plus Alex are shown in the photo and inset). His father drove a tractor, his younger brother helped measure, other adults operated concrete mixers, and other scouts poured concrete, stretched fencing fabric, and helped make the Snoqualmie Valley a better place.

So congratulations Alex on a project well planned and managed. You and your team have completed a project and teh Northwest Railway Museum is grateful for your contribution.

Save Our Rails success

Over 130 people experienced the Save Our Rails event. That beautiful sunny April afternoon and evening saw temperatures soar into the 70s. Really good food, interesting auction items, incredible wines in an after dinner tasting, and a scenic train excursion to Snoqualmie Falls rounded out the evening. There was even a guest appearance from Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the good ship Time Bandit, one of the stars from Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

Certainly the highlight of the evening was the great food from Snoqualmie’s very own Woodman Lodge. Proprietor Peter L. and his excellent staff served up superb food with prompt and efficient service. Salmon, pasta and of course steak were among the menu choices. A varied and extensive wine menu was available as an extra too.

Silent auction items provided an important avenue for support of Save Our Rails too. Over a dozen local organizations contributed including the LeHay family, Seattle Mariners, Salish Lodge and Spa, Sue B’s Avon, Carmichael’s True Value, Hit Entertainment, Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course, Jason V., Costco, Sherry G., Snoqualmie Falls Brewery, Radar Ski, TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge, and Birches Habitat.

Giving Thanks

The Northwest Railway Museum is a community resource. It could not offer great programs or even exist were it not for awesome levels of community support. And what is community support? It takes many forms and comes from every part of our community. So on this day of Thanks the museum Board of Trustees and staff humbly extend our Thanks to the community:
Thanks to our members for your continued confidence and support.
Thanks to Snoqualmie City Council, Mayor, and City Staff for supporting our programs and facilitating a major land exchange.
Thanks to City of North Bend Council, Mayor, and City Staff for supporting our programs and facilitating a major land exchange.
Thanks to King County, State of Washington and United States elected officials and employees who support funding and legislative initiatives.
Thanks to major funding partners – foundations and corporations - for supporting programs and facility development.
Thanks to individual donors who contribute objects to the collection, materials for collection care, and funds to support buildings and programs.
Thanks to 200 volunteers who contribute over 14,000 hours per year staffing programs and caring for the collection.
But most importantly, Thanks to the many thousands of people who every year visit our museum in Snoqualmie or stop by the web site. We are honored you continue to choose us as a place to spend some of your precious time.