Railway Education Center nearing completion

Cladding is being applied to the exterior

The new Railway Education Center at the Northwest Railway Museum is rapidly approaching completion. Just in the last few weeks, crews have been completing the electrical work, installing heating and air conditioning duct work, applying gypsum board, and applying steel cladding to the exterior. The building dedication is set for October 8 so the pressure is on!

Scaffolding allows workers to install
the special air handling system in the
vault. 

Special air handling is being installed in the archival vault. It will maintain relative humidity around 40% and the temperature at between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The vault incorporates approximately 800 square feet and will feature extended height compact rolling shelving along with a very high floor load rating. An enormous volume of material will be accommodated in this purpose-built space that is being protected with a "clean agent" FM-200 non-aqueous fire suppression system.

The women's restroom will feature seven
stalls.  Hopefully, no one will ever have
to wait.

Another notable feature of the new Railway Education Center is the restroom. The combined total of "receptacles" is 14, exceeding the Snoqualmie Depot count of just eight. This will improve the visitor experience during major events that may be held at the new museum campus and ensure - or so Spike sincerely hopes - that families with young children are comfortable visiting for longer periods of time.

The classroom is really taking shape!

A primary feature of the new center is a classroom to accommodate school groups, lecture series, rules instruction, traveling exhibits, and more.  Adjacent storage rooms will allow for maximum flexibility so the room configuration can be almost infinitely modified. An adjacent kitchen will provide support for larger and longer events too, as well as support for Halloween and Santa Train!

Attic storage.  Note fire suppression
piping to the right.

Up in the attic a clever feature is being installed. With the building's massive foundation and structure to allow a library and archival vault, the attic area is receiving a special records storage unit. Important museum records that are not part of the archival collection will be stored in fireproof file cabinets located in the attic area and accessed with a retractable ladder. (The fireproof file cabinets are further protected with a fire suppression system.) Most business records are kept for not longer than 7 years so the room has been set up to allow the easy removal and disposal of materials once their life cycle has been completed.

The "front" elevation of the Railway
Education Center.

During some construction days there are more than 20 workers on the site making for rather congested working conditions. Substantial completion is scheduled for October, small and punch list items will be worked on in November and December, and the "move in" time horizon remains in early 2017. Meanwhile, fundraising continues and your contribution to help assure completion of this important new facility and the programs it will allow will be acknowledged on a donor board in the new foyer.

Archive construction begins

An excavator clears away brush and

organic soil in preparation for GeoPier

piles.

On an unremarkable and cloudy day in March 2016, an excavator was delivered to the Railway History Center on Stone Quarry Road in Snoqualmie.  It attracted little notice from Mt. Si high school students, who sped along Stone Quarry Road in the parent's cars at their usual speeds, which rivaled those attained by Amtrak Cascades.  Yet the excavator was soon meaningfully changing the way the Northwest Railway Museum will operate in the future.  The excavator was on site to begin building a public parking lot, and to clear and grade the footprint for the new Railway Education Center ("REC"), the third building on the Railway History Center campus.

Railway Education Center rendering

developed by Miller|Hull.

The REC will be a modern building designed to appear similar to a train station, but using a modern architectural flavor developed by designers at the Miller|Hull Partnership. It is a project valued at nearly $3 million, and is moving to construction after a lengthy permitting process, and the time required to secure construction financing.  The general contractor is Kirtley-Cole, who is experienced in the construction of institutional buildings of this size. Construction began in earnest in mid March, and will hit its peak in early summer.  The project is scheduled to reach substantial completion in early fall 2016, but many uncontrollable factors including weather could affect the completion date.

Parking lot construction adjacent to

Stone Quarry Road begins to take

shape.

Fundamentally, it will be a tool to expand public access and improve preservation.  It will house essential facilities and services including public restrooms, admissions, and a small gift shop, but it will also incorporate an environmentally-controlled archival vault to preserve the Museum's irreplaceable collection of photographs, documents, and books that illustrate, interpret and document the railway history of the Pacific Northwest.  A reading room will be provided to allow students and other researchers to access the collection.  The collection lab will be used to process and conserve small objects and paper-based materials.  A classroom will provide for lectures, presentations, tours, and school groups to congregate and learn about regional railway history. 

First floor layout.  Library and archives

will be located on the second floor.

The REC is a facility that addresses needs first identified when the Museum was founded in 1957.  Its design has been under development for more than seven years; it is being constructed between the Conservation and Restoration Center (2007) and the Train Shed (2011). After completion, this new facility will allow the Railway History Campus to open to the public when there are no trains operating, which will allow the Museum to serve a broader and more diverse audience.  A lack of public restrooms, parking, and program offices are just three factors that have limited the Museum's ability to expand public access, but which this new facility addresses.

Major funding has been awarded for the REC by 4Culture, the Washington State Historical Society's Capital Heritage Fund, the Schwab Fund, major corporations including Puget Sound Energy and the BNSF Railway, and hundreds of individuals.  The Museum has additional support opportunities including the upcoming May 3rd Give BIg event (click on the link at www.trainmuseum.org), and  a live donate now link here.  Your support will help expand public access and improve preservation.
 

Snoqualmie Depot Bookstore CLOSED this Friday 1/23/2015

The Bookstore in the Snoqualmie Depot will be closed to the public this Friday 1/23/15.

 

The reason? The Northwest Railway Museum is moving our Point of Sale system. The new system has been in service ~ for ticket sales ~ since May 2014. Now we will use the system to track and sell inventory in our bookstore. This is exciting news for all involved, as it means a smoother customer service experience for our visitors and a far more powerful retail inventory system for staff.

 

We appreciate your patience as we move to the new system! The other parts of the Depot will be open for visitors: freight room exhibits and public restrooms.
Thank you.

Congressional candidates visit

This month the Northwest Railway Museum was honored to receive visits from both Congressional candidates. Early in October candidate Suzan DelBene toured the Conservation and Restoration Center. Then on October 28 Congressman Dave Reichert toured the Museum.

Reichert was in town to tour downtown Snoqualmie’s infrastructure reconstruction. That project is replacing sidewalks, burying overhead utilities, replacing street furniture, and expanding parking. A federal grant is helping fund this downtown revitalization project situated across the street from the Snoqualmie Depot.

Congressman Dave Reichert toured the Snoqualmie Depot, the Museum’s 1890-built National Register train station. Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson proudly highlighted the depot’s new public restrooms, an innovative partnership between the City of Snoqualmie and the Northwest Railway Museum that benefits tourists, including 90,000 Museum visitors per year. The restrooms were completed earlier this year funded by Lodging Tax dollars collected at the Salish Lodge and Spa, and represent one of the many ways Snoqualmie is supporting the museum.

After the depot tour, the Congressman climbed aboard locomotive 4012 (a 1954-built Baldwin RS4-TC) for the short trip to the Railway History Center. On the final segment of the journey, Reichert had an opportunity to student engineer. He received some instruction and eased the locomotive to a stop outside the Conservation and Restoration Center. There, he received a tour of the Train Shed and Conservation and Restoration Center.

Photos from top to bottom:

Tour of the Snoqualmie Depot. (L to R) Sue Van Gerpen, Marketing Manager; Richard R. Anderson, Executive Director; Congressman Dave Reichert; Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, Jessie Cunningham, Educator.

Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson & Congressman Dave Reichert view the new public restrooms in the Snoqualmie Depot.

Congressman Dave Reichert operates locomotive 4012 en route to the Railway History Center.

Depot restrooms dedicated

It’s official: the brand new Snoqualmie Depot public restrooms have been dedicated. A successful potty party held on May 1st culminated in dignitaries cutting a ribbon of toilet paper to officially open the restrooms. Participating were (left to right) Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, Museum President Susan Hankins, King County Council Member Kathy Lambert, Snoqualmie Councilmember Bob Jeans, and Museum Executive Director Richard Anderson.

Those in attendance each received a small package of, well, toiletries. Then everyone enjoyed cheesecake (you can make your own jokes ‘bout that!) and checked out the new facilities. Snoqualmie's Mayor and the Museum's Executive Director also took an opportunity to promote the chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace project and its involvement in the Partners In Preservation funding competition.

Notables attending the event included Mr. Bill Collins who in 1979 designed and supervised the construction of the original Snoqualmie Depot restrooms. Bill noted that funding the 1979 restroom construction was difficult, but he obviously did a great job because his design lasted 31 years, an astounding feat for any public restroom.

The new restrooms are located in the Museum's 1890-built Snoqualmie Depot and were funded by a City of Snoqualmie Lodging Tax grant. The reconstruction included new double sided exterior stairs at the east end of the depot, and other improvements to provide ADA access to the new restrooms. Additional information appeared in an article entitled Now serving appeared in April when the restrooms first opened.

Now serving...

Historically, when you needed to go somewhere, you headed to the train station. Now, when you just gotta go, we’ve got you covered too: new restrooms are open in the Snoqualmie Depot. A three month and nearly $160,000 investment has resulted in awesome new restrooms for downtown Snoqualmie. This innovative strategic partnership is a first in as far as Spike has been able to discover: the Museum owns the facility, paid for with a lodging tax grant from the City of Snoqualmie, but the City of Snoqualmie maintains the facility. In return, the facility is available as public restrooms and, because the Snoqualmie Depot is staffed seven days a week, the facilities are more family-friendly than a stand-alone restroom along Railroad Ave. The Museum gets that added benefit of additional visitation that may have otherwise missed or passed up the Snoqualmie Depot. The City gets the benefit of a safe and high quality restroom, something that always ranks high in importance for families, especially those with young children.

Construction has been underway since early January; progress was detailed here and here. They were designed by Seattle's MillerHull Partnership and constructed by Mr. K's Construction of North Bend. Come and check them out! Enjoy some coffee or tea at one of the great businesses across the street such as Koko Beans or Isadora’s. When you’ve finished, the new City of Snoqualmie public restrooms can take care of your wee!

Coming soon . . . new depot restrooms!

The Snoqualmie Depot restroom renovation project is progressing nicely. The project was outlined in a January post here and since then the old restrooms have been removed, the new walls and floor installed along with electrical and plumbing rough-in. This week, tile installation is underway. There are so many improvements the public will hardly recognize the place!

The new design incorporates an electric door opener to make the front door easier for wheel chair and walker users, and to assure ADA compliance. The design includes new low-flow toilets with slightly wider stalls than the old restrooms, and the flusher will operate with a sensor. And the gentlemen’s urinals will be waterless. Sink faucets will have sensors to activate water flow, which will stop when hands are removed. New hand driers will use high velocity air to dry hands. Lights will operate with motion sensors that will turn off when the facility is empty. The baby change tables will be relocated to the accessible toilet stalls so even the youngest patrons will have privacy.

The restroom floors are being tiled with medium gray ceramic tiles. The walls behind the toilets and sinks are tiled with white subway tiles installed with epoxy adhesive. The look really “feels” like a train station! Best of all, tile has a really long life cycle so millions more visitors can use the facilities.

The scope of work included replacement of the platform steps outside the restroom door and that work was completed in February. The platform elevation was raised nearly 4 inches to eliminate the entry threshold, a potential barrier to wheel chairs and ADA compliance. This also necessitated replacement stairs on the east end of the platform. As a bonus, the new stairs provide access to both the front and back of the depot.

New restrooms are scheduled for completion in time for the first train in April. A dedication (no doubt featuring a "royal flush") is being planned for later in the spring, so stay tuned!

New restrooms for the Depot

The Northwest Railway Museum’s Snoqualmie Depot receives about 90,000 visitors per year. Most arrive as families and many have young children. In those families, most decisions about family outings are made by mothers. Not surprisingly, most mothers rate clean, safe and accessible restrooms as essential to a successful and repeatable family outing.

The existing depot restrooms were constructed in 1979 as a component in the original Depot restoration. Over the last 30 years, these restrooms have served an estimated 2.5 million visitors. Despite a number of minor upgrades, the restrooms are at the end of their design life. In addition, they were constructed prior to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and consequently are not technically accessible.

Over the last decade or more, the City of Snoqualmie has conducted a number of surveys, studies and development plans intended to help guide downtown redevelopment. Accessible and clean public restrooms have consistently rated highly. So new public restrooms were accepted as a city priority and Snoqualmie City Council – on the recommendation of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee - designated lodging tax revenues to fund the project.

So it has been a priority of the Museum and the City of Snoqualmie to provide clean and accessible restrooms for tourists visiting downtown Snoqualmie. Unfortunately, the cost of a new stand-alone restroom facility was financially out of reach for the City; reconstructing the Snoqualmie Depot restrooms was financially out of reach for the Museum.

In an unusual but mutually beneficial arrangement, the City of Snoqualmie has formed a partnership with the Museum to fund the complete replacement of the Snoqualmie Depot restrooms. This will construct public restrooms at less than half the cost of a new stand-alone facility. Under the agreement, the Museum agrees to allow public access to the Depot, the City funds the construction, the Museum provides the space for the restrooms, and the City provides daily cleaning and maintenance of the facilities.

The new restrooms were designed by the Miller|Hull Partnership, a Seattle-based architectural firm also involved in the design of the new Train Shed. The construction contract for this $160,000 project has been awarded to North Bend-based Mr. K’s Construction. Subcontractors performing work include local businesses Bob’s Electric and Falls Plumbing. Construction began earlier this month (Jan 10) and will be completed by April in time for the beginning of the 2010 tourism season.

New public restrooms. Thanks to the City of Snoqualmie, and its forward thinking Mayor and Council, the depot restroom project is a win-win and an example of efficiencies a Public – Private Partnership can bring to a project. Notwithstanding, the biggest winners of all will be the thousands of visitors who will benefit from the use of new restrooms.