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.

Improving educational interpretation

The Northwest Railway Museum’s mission places a heavy emphasis on the role railroads played in the development and settlement of the Northwest. This story is interesting with a well-written narrative, but it is much more compelling with tangible evidence such as buildings, rolling stock and locomotives. So the large objects in the Museum’s collection are becoming more relevant to many visitors with the addition of high quality interpretive signs that connect the history with the objects. Ten interpretive signs were installed along Snoqualmie’s Centennial Trail in 2008 and have been well-received. Thanks to a grant from 4Culture and their Special Projects program, three more signs were introduced earlier this month with a fourth one made possible by a grant from the National Railway Historical Society.

The White River Lumber Company caboose 001, the Snoqualmie Depot, Northern Pacific steam rotary 10, and Weyerhaeuser Timber locomotive 1 now have outdoor signs to help visitors better understand and appreciate their role in settling and developing the Northwest.

The $10,000 project was managed by the Museum’s Educator Jessie C. with research assistance from Rich W. Photos were copied from the Museum’s collection, but also from the Weyerhaeuser Company archives and Jim Fredrickson’s collection. Design and production was completed by Chinook Signs with manufacture of the digital high pressure laminate by Fossil Graphics.

Thanks to 4Culture and the National Railway Historical Society, interpretation at the Northwest Railway Museum continues to improve!

IMLS Director visits Museum

Saturday, February 6, 2010 was an early morning for the board and staff of the Northwest Railway Museum. Dr. Anne Radice, Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (“IMLS”) in Washington, DC, was in Seattle and was able to schedule a visit to the Northwest Railway Museum at 7:30 AM.

IMLS is an agency of the Federal government supporting libraries and museums across the United States. With an annual budget of more than $265 million, they are the largest Federal agency supporting museums and libraries.

The Dr. Radice and the IMLS staff selected Chapel Car 5 Messenger of Peace for funding from the Save America’s Treasures program they manage in collaboration with the National Park Service and other Federal agencies. This visited represented an opportunity to view the Chapel Car before work begins, and to see the facilities where it will be rehabilitated and exhibited.

Dr. Radice began her visit promptly at 7:30 touring the Snoqualmie Depot, White River caboose 001 and the Chapel Car. She and her special assistant Betsy M. traveled in locomotive 4012 to the Conservation and Restoration Center where she met several key staff members and several members of the Museum’s Board of Trustees including President Susan H., Treasurer Jon B., and Secretary Sue S. We were also delighted to have Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson present to represent the community and the Museum (Matt is an ex officio member of the Museum’s board and participates in most meetings). Matt was able to give Dr. Radice a brief overview of the downtown redevelopment efforts and how they cohesively link the Museum with the community. While at the CRC, Dr. Radice also visited the construction site of the new Train Shed exhibit building.

Dr. Radice was intrigued by the Museum and had many great and helpful suggestions. She confessed that as a little girl she had a classic American Flyer train set, and that as an adult she often rides Amtrak in the Northeast corridor. When she visited the Depot Bookstore, she could not resist buying a model of Chapel Car 5.

The Museum is honored to have welcomed Dr. Radice for a tour and we are delighted our community is able to attract her interest.

(Shown in photo, left to right, Honorable Matt Larson, Mayor of Snoqualmie; Richard R. Anderson, Executive Director of the Northwest Railway Museum; and Dr. Anne Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.)

Caboose 001 project receives Spellman Award

Last year the Northwest Railway Museum's intrepid group of collection care volunteers completed rehabilitation of White River Lumber Company caboose 001. This year their efforts were acknowledged with the John D. Spellman award for outstanding achievement in restoration.

The Award is named for the first King County Executive John D. Spellman, who held office from 1969 - 1980 and later went on to become Governor of Washington. This year, the presentation was made by Congressman Dave Reichert in a ceremony held at the Meadowbrook Farm Interpretive Center in North Bend. Depicted in the photo l to r, Congressman Reichert, Caboose volunteers Dale Campbell, Martin Nemerever, Richard Wilkens, Dan Calhoun and Museum Executive Director Richard R. Anderson. Not present was Dickie Huntamer.

Five volunteers contributed over 75% of the efforts to restore caboose 001, a project that consumed over 5,000 person hours. Volunteer Martin Nemerever's site describes the process: http://wrl001.restorations-nrm.com/

The Spellman Award acknowledges this significant achievement and its overall contribution to historic preservation in King County. It is given each year to outstanding projects in King County. Other recipients this year include the Interpretation of the Iron Goat Trail in Steven's Pass performed by Volunteers for Outdoor Washington, David Cook's reconstruction of the Cook Building in North Bend, and Peter LaHay's adaptive reuse that created the Woodman Lodge in Snoqualmie behind the Snoqualmie Depot.

King County photo by Ned Ahrens

Funding the Museum

We’re often asked how the Northwest Railway Museum is funded, and perhaps more to the point, people want to know how donor funds are “invested” in the Museum. This is a great question, particularly in light of the recent awareness of how some investor-owned businesses have been spending investor money. So here it is: unless otherwise directed by the donor, contributions are invested in new facilities and in collection care. However at this point in the Museum’s history, it is really in the facilities where donors can make the biggest difference.

The Conservation and Restoration Center is one such facility and it was completed in 2006 at a cost of $2.4 million after years of permitting and fundraising. This collection care facility is allowing the Museum to perform some truly awesome work on really important objects. Caboose 001, built by White River Lumber in 1945 is an example and is shown here in a 2008 post-rehabilitation photo. Incidentally, donor funds paid for materials and over 5,000 volunteer hours performed the rehabilitation.

The next facility will be an exhibit building to place large objects such as locomotives and coaches inside, out of the weather. This 25,000 square foot facility will revolutionize how the Museum preserves and exhibits its collection. This project is expected to cost approximately $3.7 million (exact cost will be determined in a bidding process) and $2.7 million has been pledged or received.

So how can supporters contribute? The Museum’s web site has a secure donation page here. There is also the Giving Express program through American Express that can be used to donate cash, or even membership rewards points. And you can always visit in person – the Depot Bookstore is open every day except New Years, Christmas and Thanksgiving – and speak with a real person. But you don’t have to give money to be a supporter. You can volunteer, come and participate in programs, or simply tell your friends and family about what we are doing and why you believe in it. Thank you!