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.

A bright idea

There are many elements required to create a successful exhibit space, but few are more impactful than lighting.  When the Museum's Train Shed exhibit and collection storage building was built, it was illuminated with High Intensity Discharge ("HID") lamps.  They represented the best compromise for cost versus light quality.  Yet just nine years later, there are many other options, and most use substantially less electricity.

With the Covid 19 crisis closure coupled with damage to the Train Shed roof mentioned in the last post, June seemed like the perfect time to retrofit electrical lighting fixtures to Light Emitting Diodes ("LED") lamps.  

Changing out lamps is very impactful because the boom lift needed to perform the work requires exhibits to be dismantled, and cars or locomotives to be moved.  This process normally generates weeks of disruptions - except right now the Museum remains closed because of the Covid 19 crisis.  

Thanks to volunteer Arnie L. and the local Platt Electric in Preston, a conservation rebate reduced the price of the new lighting elements to roughly the cost of new HID bulbs.  Also helpful was some assistance with equipment from CHG, the company who is performing the storm damage repairs.  And especially to Arnie L. who rode the lift to the ceiling and changed most of the 38+ ceiling fixtures.  Brent assisted with the conversion as well, and more than a dozen others helped with dismantling exhibits, removing the old ballasts, and helping provide supplies for the retrofit wiring.

With thanks to everyone for working together, all the Trains Shed HID high bay ceiling fixtures were successfully converted to LED lamps.  This cut the power consumption by approximately 25% and "warmed" the lighting color temperature to 3,000 K, which is also known as warm white.  This will generate annual power savings of approximately $2,000, and improve the visitor experience immensely.  

Thar she blows!

Western Washington has weather patterns seldom understood outside of the region.  Summers are dominated by beautiful weather, are usually drier than New York city, and have low humidity.  However, winter occasionally brings unpredictable storms that may release torrents of rain or wet snow, and hurricane-force wind gusts.  

Storm damage occurs most years, but it is usually minor and has consisted of railroad crossing gates that were broken in half by wind gusts, gutters torn from the Education Center by heavy snow, and a crossing gate mechanism shattered when a truck skidded in the snow and sideswiped a crossing signal mast.  

The large western hemlock dropped
diagonally across the roof.

Now the Museum can add another roof to the list.  Just as the Covid 19 crisis was expanding, a sudden wind storm brought destruction to the Museum when it brought a massive tree down onto the Train Shed.  The evergreen was more than 100 feet tall and appeared to be very healthy, but a gust snapped the trunk off approximately 20 feet above the ground.  The tree landed diagonally across the north dormer damaging the eave truss, gutter system, and roof panels.  Inside, wall paneling buckled and window casing popped off the wall. And soon water was leaking into the wall structure.

A standing -seam roof is now water
tight when the seams are no longer intact.

The Museum responded quickly to the crisis by hiring Imhoff Crane to remove the tree right away.  Due to its length and weight, Scott Imhoff cut the tree into sections to make it easier and safer to handle.  Then steps were taken to make the building water tight again until proper repairs could be undertaken.

A few needles and seed pods disguise
the extent of the damage,

With the warmer, drier weather now blanketing the Northwest, CHG Building Systems is beginning the repairs.  More than 1,000 square feet of roof is being replaced, along with several structural members, some interior cladding, and dormer cladding.  The work is expected to take two weeks and is valued at more than $140,000.

Inside a caboose

Yes, a real caboose.  White River Lumber Company 001.  It was built at Enumclaw in 1945 and restored to its original appearance here at the Northwest Railway Museum by Dale C., Martin N., Rich W., Dick H., and others more than 10 years ago.  The effort earned an award from the King County Historic Preservation Program.

Beginning Friday, October 11, 2019 visitors to the Train Shed exhibit building will be able to visit inside caboose 001.  New steps and LED lighting are making this possible, and opening this new exhibit was encouraged by visitor feedback asking for the opportunity to go inside a caboose.

White River Lumber 001 is pretty spartan, as were most cabooses.  Its plain interior reflects the short trips it was used on from Enumclaw into the forest and back again.  In the closing days of WW II it may have traveled as far as Mt Rainier National Park, but always returned home the same day.

Notably, 001 was built during the war at Enumclaw.  This was because the war time ration board denied White River permission to purchase a new caboose.  Yet a caboose was required on log trains with ten or more cars.  So the logging company managers tasked their workers with building a caboose.  It is not a prime example of the fine art of car building, but it is an example of the thoughtful and utilitarian improvisation that was common in logging camps throughout the Northwest.  

Come and visit caboose 001 Thursday - Sunday from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm through the end of October.  Members are free.  Admission is included with all regular train tickets; trains depart Snoqualmie on Saturdays and Sundays 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, and 3 pm.  A la carte visitation is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Train Shed Features New Exhibit

Panels with car 523.

This spring, the Train Shed Exhibit Building features several new exhibits, including Connecting Communities: Story of the Puget Sound Electric Railway. Using the recent acquisition of Puget Sound Electric Railway (PSER) car 523 as a spring-board, the Museum applied for and received a 4Culture Heritage Special Projects grant to fund the exhibit.

PSER was an interurban railway that ran between downtown Seattle and Tacoma and connected many points in between, both large and small. PSER operated from 1902-1928, and was an important factor in settlement along its route. With consistent and timely rail travel available, residents could move out of cities and into more rural areas while still remaining connected to urban centers.

Double-sided panels in Train
Shed Exhibit Building.

Connecting Communities consists of 4 double-sided panels, seven focusing on the story of PSER and one focusing on the history of car 523. The exhibit also includes a large (72"w x 34"h) high-pressure laminate panel that features reproduction of a graphic route map from a PSER public time table. Finally, there is a children's panel (the 1st of its kind at NRM!) that describes the different kinds of transportation children could have used to get around in 1902. That panel features a challenge to children with photos to lift and learn.

Children's panel is at a lower height.

A 2018 4Culture Heritage Special Projects grant funded this exhibit. 4Culture is the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington. Using Lodging Tax and 1% for Art funds, 4Culture has four program areas to serve the county: arts, heritage, historic preservation, and public art. For more info on 4Culture, visit their website at www.4Culture.org. 

A big thank you to 4Culture for continuing to support exhibits at the Northwest Railway Museum!

Also installed in the Train Shed over the winter, a photography exhibit Faces of Railroading that features images of railroad workers taken by Jack Delano during his time working for the Farm Security Administration in 1942-43.

Digital collections now available online

The main page of Digital Collections.

The Northwest Railway Museum recently completed a 4Culture Collection Care (Heritage) grant: Small Object Cataloging. The project proposed to catalog a selection of small railway artifacts and provide the public with a way of viewing those items through the Museum’s website. 

As part of the project, more than 600 objects were cataloged using Past Perfect Museum software. The software also includes a function that allows the public to view designated collection items online. The Digital Collections are available for perusal on TrainMuseum.org under Research. The Museum selected a small sample of artifacts for the online collection under three categories: lanterns, ephemera, and tools of the trade. 

The Digital Collections are available at no cost to the public on TrainMuseum.org. Additionally, some artifacts from this project are on display in the Train Shed Exhibit Building, which had approximately 14,000 visitors in 2017.

Sample page of the Ephemera collection.

Lantern main page.

Sample table of contents for Tools.

Sample page of the Lantern collection.

Railway history is an under-represented heritage theme yet railroads played an extremely important role in getting people to the Pacific Northwest and materials out of the area. The Digital Collections help tell that story to the public through photographs and collections data.

A 4Culture Collection Care (Heritage) grant funded this exhibit. 4Culture is the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington. Using Lodging Tax and 1% for Art funds, 4Culture has four program areas to serve the county: arts, heritage, historic preservation, and public art. For more info on 4Culture, visit their website at 4Culture.org. 

Enhancing Train Shed Programs

The Northwest Railway Museum recently completed and installed the Train Shed Tour Package Enhancement. This project, installed in time for the regular train season to kick off on April 2, was funded by a 4Culture Heritage Special Projects grant.

The grant funded improvements to the Tour Package program, but is actually benefiting everyone who rides the train since ~ new this season ~ almost all trains now stop and let passengers off for a visit to the Train Shed. Improvements include purchase and large format printing of historic images used to illustrate various pieces of rolling stock on display in the Train Shed. Curator Jessie Cunningham found images that showed the inside of freight and passenger cars to better illustrate the use of such cars. The grant also purchased easels for displaying the images as well as two voice boosters to help docents project their voices during the Tour Package.

The large format images have received a great response since the beginning of the season. The Tour Package is available on the 1^st and 3^rd Saturdays of each month, April thru October, at 12:30pm at the Snoqualmie Depot. The Tour Package includes a short Depot tour, train ride to the Train Shed (ahead of the general public riding the train), Docent tour of the Train Shed, and new this year, the Tour Package also includes a trip to the CRC to view the ongoing restoration projects! After re-boarding the train, participants enjoy a train ride to Snoqualmie Falls and back to Snoqualmie. The round trip program is 2.5 hours long and is great for train and history enthusiasts that are looking for a more educational or informative experience. Reservations can be made in the Depot Bookstore or by phone at 425/888-3030 x 7202.

For those who cannot take a train ride or the Tour Package, the images will be on display in the Snoqualmie Depot freight room within the next week. The Depot is open 10am to 5pm daily.

The Museum is grateful to 4Culture for supporting our programming with this Special Projects grant! 4Culture, the cultural services agency for King County, Washington is committed to making our region stronger by supporting citizens and groups who preserve our shared heritage, and create arts and cultural opportunities for residents and visitors. The Northwest Railway Museum has received a great deal of support and funding, both large and small, from 4Culture over the years.

Stock car unloading cows.

Crew relax inside their caboose.

 

Not just a train ride anymore . . .

In its 49th year of public programs, the Northwest Railway Museum has made a significant change to its excursion railway operating plan.  Beginning in April 2016, all regular trains stop at the Train Shed Exhibit Building for passengers to take a self-guided tour.  It's not just a train ride anymore!

The Museum has been developing the Railway History Center campus for more than 10 years.  Located on Stone Quarry Road in Snoqualmie, the campus will feature all the Museum's critical facilities including visitor services, an exhibit hall, collection storage, and collection care.  Given the building permit, zoning, and public safety requirements, this is a multi million dollar development.  However, there is some great news: the initial development is nearing completion with the third phase now under construction.  So it's time to open the exhibit building to the public!

The new regular train schedule features a two hour excursion.  Passengers board in Snoqualmie, travel to North Bend, then return to the Railway History Center where they have an opportunity to detrain and take a self-guiding tour of the Train Shed Exhibit Building.  The 30 minute visit is an opportunity to see chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace, White River locomotive 1 and caboose 001, exhibits that detail how the railroad changed everything, and more.  Then, passengers entrain to continue their excursion to Snoqualmie Falls, and a return to the Snoqualmie Depot.  A similar schedule also departs the North Bend Depot.

Still want more??? Take the Train Shed Tour Package on the first and third Saturdays at 12:30 PM.  A docent-led tour will also include a visit to the Conservation and Restoration Center where you will learn about the rehabilitation of former Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924.

Check out fares and schedules here on the Museum's web site.  Please note that the new operating schedule is in effect through October, but does not apply on Mother's Day or Father's Day weekends, or during Day Out With Thomas, Snoqualmie Railroad Days or Santa Train.  Visit the Northwest Railway Museum for a completely new experience, because it isn't just a train ride anymore!

Highlights from 2015

2015 was a year of significant accomplishment at the Northwest Railway Museum. Read on to learn about some of the highlights!

This 2015 continued a major multiyear effort to improve the passenger car fleet. In the first part of the year Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach 276 received an all-new standing seam lower clerestory roof complete with high performance paint job. At the same time, a great deal interior work, refurbished vestibule traps and doors, and assorted running gear work was completed.

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach 213 – an all wood car body with steel center sill - received a rebuilt A end wood vestibule components as well as a rebuilt upper diaphragm support, floor and roof repairs, interior paint, and interior header work.

Oregon, Washington, Railroad and Navigation Company (Union Pacific) observation car 1590 saw significant replacement of the steel underframe cross bracing replaced, a new leaf spring, side bearing work, floor repairs, roof repairs, and brake system work.

Combine SP and S 272 was not left out and received several new steel roof panels, several new headers, rehabilitated clerestory windows, and several new coach section windows.

Chapel car Messenger of Peace received new replica lighting and additional interior finishing work. It was also moved to its long term exhibition location inside the Train Shed.

New exhibits have been introduced too.  “The Railroad changed everything” debuted in the Train Shed exhibit building in fall 2015.  Earlier in 2015, “Railroads built the Pacific Northwest” was introduced.  These are just the first two of many new exhibits planned for the Train Shed.

2015 was an important year for the City of Snoqualmie too.  A major reconstruction of downtown Snoqualmie valued at more than $3 million was completed.  It features a new boardwalk just across the tracks from the Snoqualmie Depot, new landscaping, and a 42 inch fence to deter trespassing on the tracks.

A great number of improvements to the Conservation and Restoration Center (shop) facility occurred in 2015 with the acquisition of several large machines including a 48" vertical turret lathe, Cincinnati 5 milling machine, Clemco 1000 48" belt sander/surfacer, 18" American lathe, Carelton radial drill, Grizzly edge sander, Gould and Eberhart 24" shaper, Dewalt planer/surface, wheel press, as well as numerous hand tools and supplies.

Steam locomotives have been the really big story in 2015 with significant changes, and progress towards a sustainable steam program.  Curator Pappas' SCPC 2 received a great deal of work in the first half of the year to improve performance and economy. Piston rods were turned and ground, new packing installed, guides remachined and lined, rear cylinder heads lapped in, ring grooves trued, and new rings installed.  This allowed for the Northwest Railway Museum’s first full steam season in more than 25 years, which was a tremendous success with ridership increases, crew training, and enhanced public education.

Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924 – the Museum’s Rogers-built 1898 0-6-0 - saw a great deal of progress towards its operational rehabilitation and restoration to its circa 1906 appearance. In 2015, a new riveted slope back cistern was built for the tender, in house asbestos abatement completed, form 4 boiler engineering finished, a new riveted steam done constructed and installed, new steam dome lid machined, firebox side sheets fabricated and welded in, and a new cap stack fabricated to match historic photographs circa 1906.

The Museum’s diesel fleet also saw improvements with the conversion of RS4-TC 4012 from a direct drive cooling fan to a battery of temperature-controlled electric cooling fans using off-the-shelf components for improved reliability. This conversion keeps the locomotive’s diesel engine operating temperature within two or three degrees of optimal, which improves efficiency and reduces wear.  The new cooling design mimics what modern locomotives use and has proven very reliable.  Very importantly, locomotive 4012 received new batteries in 2015.  New "Rolls" locomotive batteries were installed at the beginning of the season and have really helped with cool weather starts.

The Snoqualmie Depot received some important work too.  The two waiting room floors were refinished and the Depot Bookstore was relocated into the ladies’ waiting room.  It had been located in the gentlemen’s waiting room since the early 1980s.  This change is allowing improved programming.  For instance, Santa Train 2015 used the newly available gentlemen's waiting room as Santa's parlor.

All in all it has been a great year for the Northwest Railway Museum.  Major events have been some of the best attended ever, ridership is up, and 2016 looks to be even better with ground breaking coming soon for the new Railway Education Center, changes to the operating schedule so that passengers get to visit the collection within the Train Shed exhibit building, and the continued rehabilitation and restoration of the collections.

 

New exhibit installed in Train Shed

The Northwest Railway Museum recently completed the much anticipated Phase 1 exhibit in the Train Shed Exhibit Building. The railroad changed everything is the guiding interpretive theme for the building and the Tour Package program. The exhibit is stationed in the foyer of the building and consists of four double-sided panels and four exhibit cases showcasing small objects.

The exhibit was curated by Deputy Director Jessie Cunningham. In her role as Deputy Director, Cunningham is responsible for all programming including exhibits and education programs such as School Train. The Phase 1 exhibit has been a long time in the making and Cunningham is please to have it installed. After completing the content and lay-out, the panels went thru several reviews by lead docents. It was important to Cunningham that the exhibit work with the docents and the Tour Package, rather than work against them. At this time, the only public access to the Train Shed is during the Tour Package which has a tight time frame. Cunningham limited the amount of text, allowing the images to be the focus of the panels as well as help illustrate and interpret the history taught to the public during the Tour Package.

The Tour Package is available in Snoqualmie on Saturdays at 12:30pm and includes a short depot tour, train ride to the Train Shed, tour of the train shed, and a train ride to the top of Snoqualmie Falls and back. Reservations can be made by calling the Bookstore between 10am and 5pm daily.

The Museum received a grant from 4Culture to complete the exhibit. 4Culture is a huge supporter of projects at the Northwest Railway Museum as well as countless other organizations in King County. For more info on 4Culture, visit their website at 4Culture.org.

The Phase 1 exhibit will also have a companion website that will be available shortly at TrainMuseum.org.

Small artifacts include a selection of tools of the Trainman's trade as well as items passenger might encounter during a train ride.