Lighting up a coach

Adams and Westlake kerosene
lamp designed for rail passenger
cars. --NRM Collection

Coach 218 was built in 1912, an interesting era in the car hardware and lighting appliance business.  In that year, electric lighting was not yet widespread and most lamps were fueled with oil.  Coach 218 - a product of the Barney and Smith Car Company - was equipped with both electric and kerosene lamps.  When operating on the train to Spokane, electric lighting was powered by a steam dynamo on the baggage car.  On other trains including those to Astoria or Bend, Oregon, kerosene lamps provided light.

Rehabilitating and restoring a wood coach that will operate on a museum railway does present a few challenges, which often have to be met with compromise.  In the gas and oil light era, many incidents resulted in fire that was set by the lighting.  The two-burner lamps weighed more than 60 pounds each and were suspended from the ceiling. The fixtures are tall enough that once installed many patrons over six feet tall would have to duck under the lamps. And practically speaking, the light was very dim by the standards of the 21st Century.  So using kerosene fixtures presented a number of problems, even if converted to electric light.

Coach 218 has a design motif consistent with the Edwardian era of the early 20th Century.  Museum curators selected lamps that would be plausible in this era, but were limited in choices due to budget.  Fixtures produced by Rejuvenation Hardware of Portland, Oregon were selected and installed.  Light emitting diodes that replicate the appearance of clear bulbs were selected and together create a pleasing effect.  We hope you agree!

Coach 218 and its new lighting will be operating at the Northwest

Railway Museum this summer.  

Spokane Portland and Seattle Railway Historical Association

The Spokane Portland and Seattle Railway Historical Association held their 2016 annual convention in Fife, Washington.  Field trips included a trip to the Northwest Railway Museum at Snoqualmie, Washington to see the rehabilitation work that has been recently performed on Spokane, Portland and Seattle coach 218, combine 272, and coach 276.

The SP&S Railway Historical Society is based in the Northwest and has a mission to preserve the history of the once-proud railway that was jointly owned by the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern Railways.  The mainline in Washington extended between Vancouver and Spokane, with a branch south from Wishram to Bend, Oregon, and another from Portland, Oregon to Seaside, Oregon. The Oregon Electric Railway division operated between Portland and Eugene, Oregon.

The visit included a tour of the entire railway line. Naturally, this included travel on rehabilitated Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coaches. The 1912-built coach 218 and 1915-built 272 traveled from North Bend to Snoqualmie Falls and return. The beautiful 75 degree weather made the experience all the better too!

The SP& S Railway Historical Association has been very supportive of the Museum's rehabilitation efforts on SP&S coaches.  This visit was an opportunity to share the successes in preserving SP&S's history, but also the efforts on other artifacts including chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace.  Participants were able to walk through the cars and talk with the collection technicians that performed the work.

The tour also included a visit to the Train Shed exhibit building where participants were able to view a variety of rail history artifacts guided by a trained docent. 

Steam Santa Train

In another important 2014 development for the Northwest Railway Museum, the first steam-powered Santa Train since 1989 operated on December 19, 2014.  The Santa Cruz Portland Cement 2 pulled sold-out four-car trains from North Bend to Snoqualmie where passengers disembarked to visit with Santa and receive refreshments prepared inside the railway kitchen car.  The SCPC 2 is owned by the Museum's curator and is helping train volunteers in preparation for a permanent steam program.  While not indigenous to the Northwest, the SCPC 2 is an excellent example of a small steam locomotive and is a powerful tool for interpreting steam locomotive operation.

 

Steam Santa Train was quite popular and successful  More than 1,200 people made the journey on December 19, and younger visitors who still believe received a small gift from Santa, which this year was an LED flashlight.  The day closed without incident and will likely be repeated in 2015 - check out the steam-centric photos of the event below!

Steam Santa Train departs from the North Bend Depot and travels to

Snoqualmie where the Santa experience takes place.

Periods of sunshine brightened the day, but crisp air allowed escaping steam

to persist making the event feel rather ethereal.

Santa Train has a tight schedule: the train completes a run every sixty minutes.

To maintain the schedule, a water truck topped up the water in North Bend at

the end of each run.

The SCPC 2 was very popular with the visiting public and crowds quickly

gathered after each arrival.

Steam Santa Train included a very rare 4:00 departure, which meant nearly

the entire experience occurred after sunset.

Heading up the coach consist was the newly-rehabilitated SP&S 218, a wood

coach built by Barney and Smith in 1912.

 

There is something truly magical about a steam locomotive operating after

sunset!

Happy Birthday, Washington State — remix

Five years ago, we took credit on these pages for Washington State's 120th birthday. Well, we won't do that again.

Instead, we'll take credit for its quasquicentennial!

We said it then and we'll say it again: it was no coincidence that railroad builder D. H. Gilman signed this Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway Company stock certificate in 1888, and that U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signed Proclamation 294 admitting Washington into the Union the following year.

Today, we think the pace of life has rapidly increased with electronics, computers, smartphones — instant this and instant that. And so it has. But that's just what it felt like as the final decades of the 19th Century hurtled toward the 20th. The railroad turned a laborious multi-day journey from Seattle to Snoqualmie into a picnic. Literally. An excursion to Snoqualmie Falls became a recreational day trip. And folks in Snoqualmie? Whatever they wanted could be brought in by rail. Quickly. Life was transformed. So resist that sleepy historic town stereotype and let the flavor and flourish of those days swirl around you. The Depot and other wood buildings from the period can help you picture it.

President Harrison. Courtesy FCIT.

Trains have operated out of the Snoqualmie Depot — the same building — since 1890. The sound of our footfalls may be different without lace-up boots and hard heels. But the creak of the boards would be familiar to those who stepped across the platform and into the ladies' waiting room to purchase their tickets. Incidentally, lengths of rail currently in front and back of the Depot pre-date the building. So if you step over the track to get to the platform, you may touch the very rail that was here when President Harrison signed that proclamation on November 11, 1889.

What else was here then? The two-story building behind the Depot was built not long after — in 1902 — for the Modern Woodmen's fraternal organization. Across King Street, the tavern is the original first floor of a two-story hotel built in 1910.

Across the main street from the Depot, at 8096 Railroad Avenue, another wood building harbors stories of Snoqualmie dating from 1909. And not much more than a block away at the corner of River Street and Falls Avenue, the hip roof porch and posts are among the features that maintain the historical appearance of another 1909 building, although additions and changes have been made to the structure since its original construction for Reinig Brothers General Merchandise.

Is the Snoqualmie of today — a main row of businesses facing the Depot, with additional enterprises peppered around neighboring streets, all in the shadow of Mount Si — so very different from the Snoqualmie shown here in 1897? The Depot-centered activity that greeted Washington's birth as a state has its echoes in activity surrounding the Depot today. More than 1,000 people rode the train during the last weekend of October. And the Northwest Railway Museum recently launched a steam program. So when you board the newly rehabilitated coach 218 with its mahogany paneling and mohair-covered seats, you might have an opportunity to ride in the wake of a steam locomotive. Just like the passengers who looked out those coach windows when the State of Washington was just a whippersnapper.

Santa Cruz Portland Cement 2 pulls coach 218 in 2014.

Lettering a coach

The 1912-built wood coach 218 has been the focus of considerable rehabilitation effort at the Museum for some years.  In the final phase of work, some of the more iconic features of a passenger coach have finally begun to appear.  Grab irons, window latches, window lifts, and door stops are obvious to the passengers, but what about lettering? 

Most passenger cars were lettered with the railroad name or company along the - you guessed it - letterboard.  "Great Northern", "Northern Pacific", "Union Pacific", "Canadian Pacific", or even "Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern" are documented in period photos.  Coach 218 operated on a railroad jointly owned by the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern called the Spokane, Portland and Seattle.  Fortunately, a photograph held in the collections of the Oregon Historical Society revealed what that looked like in 1912. Paint sample found along the edges of moldings allowed an accurate color match too.

Lettering in era it was built was usually gold leaf, which were actual thin sheets of gold attached to the side of the car with an adhesive.  Gold leaf could have been applied to the 218, but it is a skill set not resident at the Northwest Railway Museum.  Fortunately, modern metallic paint can give an appearance very similar to gold leaf by using a paint mask over a pre-painted metallic gold surface.  So the artisans in the Museum's Conservation and Restoration Center were able to create the stencils and paint mask required to reproduce that look, and earlier this fall the lettering made its first appearance. 

You can visit and RIDE on coach 218 at the Northwest Railway Museum .  Your next opportunity are the Halloween Steam Train rides on October 25 and 26.  See you there!

Scenes from Day Out With Thomas 2014

The Day Out With Thomas Thrill of the Ride Tour was another successful event at the Northwest Railway Museum! Nearly 16,000 guests enjoyed a visit with Thomas the Tank Engine, and a multitude of activities.  This 13th annual visit of that Very Useful Engine was skillfully staffed by many of the Museum's 130 active volunteers who contributed hundreds of hours doing everything from checking tickets to running the locomotive to guiding visitors to applying tattoos to emptying garbage.  And the Santa Cruz Portland Cement 2 steam locomotive even made a cameo appearance to let everyone know about Snoqualmie Railroad Days on August 15 - 17.  Check out these scenes from this year's fabulous event -

Coach 218 was at the head of the
train during Day Out With Thomas.

Sir Topham Hatt greeeted
visitors throughout the
event.

Motor car rides were a highlight for
many children and their parents.

A variety of Thomas-
themed merchandise was
offered in the retail tent.

Digital play stations debuted in this
year's Imagination Station.

  Scratch the cat visited    
this year too!                  

Eric Ode presented a variety of
material throughout the event.

Live steam locomotive models operated
on a layout during the event.

Photo opportunities with
Thomas the Tank Engine
were available from JED
Photography.

Punch and Judy was performed by
Clay Martin throughout the event.

Great food from Snoqualmie Falls
Candy Factory and Sahara's Pizza
was enjoyed by many throughout the
day.

Families could take their own photo
with Thomas too!

There were lots of learning
opportunities too.

US Plywood 11 was a featured exhibit.

Hi Thomas!

Santa Cruz Portland
Cement 2 was a special
guest who will return on
Railroad Days, Aug 15 -
17.

The splendid newly rehabilitated
interior in coach 218, a 1912-built
wood car that ran between Vancouver
and Spokane.

Color for 218

Coach 218 will be 102 years old this summer.  This Barney and Smith coach is one of the last wood coaches built for service on an American railroad.  It served the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway as a first class coach from 1912 through the late 1940s.

Over the last several years, coach 218 has received considerable attention from skilled volunteers and employees.  The most recent effort applied the "original" color to one side of the car.   The other side of the car will be completed in the coming weeks, but this latest effort was completed in time to debut on the annual Father's Day trains.

So what is "original" color?  It is a color matched to samples found under moldings in the vestibule. They were scanned by the paint manufacturer to create a formula for modern paint that can be mixed locally.  This dark green color was common on railroad coaches of the era and perhaps was best known as the color of most Pullman company sleeping cars.  Paint used on early 20th Century railroad coaches generally had a flat sheen and the gloss was added by applying a spirit varnish over the color coat, but that had to be re-applied each year.  The modern paint used on 218 is a two-component gloss urethane formulated for wood boats that should provide years of trouble-free service.

What is next?  Lettering.  218 was lettered "Spokane Portland and Seattle," originally in gold leaf, and later in imitation gold.  The number 218 appeared in four places, over each of the bolsters on each side of the car.

Rehabilitation of SP&S coach 218 is nearing completion after a multi-year effort incorporating 15,000 person hours and an investment of more than $250,000.  The project has been made possible in part with the generous support of 4Culture, The Snoqualmie Tribe, and the Nysether Family Foundation.

White glove team

The Northwest Railway Museum was honored to host a Reinforcement Crew event on May 17.  The Reinforcement Crew is a team of museum collections professionals from the Registrars Committee of the American Alliance of Museums ("AAM").  The AAM is holding their conference in Seattle this month and registrars from all over North American are visiting for this largest annual gathering of museum professionals in the world.

The Reinforcement Crew supports collections projects at small museums located in the annual conference host city. This 7th annual event selected five projects to support, including one here at the Northwest Railway Museum.   The Museum's project inventoried and boxed the collection of published material, which has been housed in the Snoqualmie Depot since the early 1980s.  This paper-based collection is being packed up and stored in preparation for its eventual relocation to the new Railway History Center library expected to open next year in Snoqualmie.  The new library will store materials in a temperature and humidity-controlled vault to help assure long term preservation.

Volunteers participating in the Northwest Railway Museum's project included Rebecca Engelhardt, Museum of Glass; Jessica Wilks, Tacoma Art Museum; Elizabeth K Mauro, Art Installation; Mell Scalzi, Museum of Arts and Design; Ariane Westin-McCaw, Nordic Heritage Museum; and Jeri Miller, Artech.  Participating from the Northwest Railway Museum were Cristy Lake, Peggy Barchi, Dennis Snook, George Houle and Spike.  Thank you to  all who participating!

During a seven hour work party, more than 120 boxes were filled with books and a detailed inventory of each box was generated and recorded.  Boxes were loaded into the Museum's coach 218, which has been undergoing rehabilitation and restoration in the Conservation and Restoration Center.  The 218 is nearly complete with a few weeks work on ceilings, some moldings and seats remaining to be completed. So it was a natural choice for transporting the library collection as it was not yet being used on the regular train, and it gave Museum staff an opportunity to evaluate the car's performance.  It also gave the visiting collections volunteers an opportunity to travel in rehabilitated coach more than 100 years old!

Coach 218 interior paneling

Wall paneling is cut and fit inside

coach 218.  Veneers have at least nine

coats of shellac.

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach 218 has been undergoing rehabilitation and restoration in the Museum's Conservation and Restoration Center.  Reports detailing this work have appeared in this blog for several years; the last report detailed the new floor.  Recently, crews began fitting interior paneling into the car, a tedious component of work that will take many weeks to complete. 

New and recovered mahogany veneers have been pressed onto new plywood cores using the Museum's vacuum veneer press.  Some veneers were removed from original but damaged solid core plywood.  Replacement veneers were acquired from Edensaw, a specialty hardwood supplier.  The flitches were carefully laid out and trimmed to match along each edge.  Special veneer tape was used to maintain indexing while glue and pressure was applied.

There are 43 windows in coach 218 so

there are a number of window panels.

After curing the adhesive, the veneer was colored using a 2% solution of potassium dichromate, an old but effective technique for darkening the wood and drawing out the figure.  Following a drying period, "varnish" was applied, which consists of nine or more coats of shellac. 

Shellac is a natural finish made by dissolving buttons of shellac in alcohol, and is available with semi-transparent color that ranges from clear to black.  (The buttons are made by melting the secretions of the lac bug collected from trees in India and Indonesia.)  It is the traditional interior finish used by the Barney and Smith Car Company on coach 218, but also chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace.

Coach 218 is using  a shellac variety called "ruby." which not coincidentally possesses a reddish hue.  However there can be considerable variation in the appearance of wood so the coach 218 crew has used other varieties of shellac when panels are too light or too dark.

There are many hours of effort remaining to fit all the panels but this stage represents an important and long-awaited milestone.