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!

More on rotaries

Apparently many of you are interested in rotary snowplows. Here are some additional links to information and videos about rotaries.

Exhibit one: Rotary 1 on the White Pass and Yukon

Exhibit two: Union Pacific rotary 900082

Exhibit three: Although a little out of date, here is a list of remaining rotaries

Exhibit four: HistoryLink's entry for the Museum's rotary 10

Exhibit five: Garden railway rotary snowplow model in action

Exhibit six: Rotary snowplow demo at Portola, CA

Exhibit seven: Sample footage of 1952 Southern Pacific rotary action

Rotary snowplow

This week’s snowy weather in Western Washington reminds me how all-weather travel is really a modern convenience. In the early days of the transcontinental railroads, winter line closures were a frequent occurrence. The introduction of the rotary snowplow improved winter operating conditions for railroads, particularly in mountain passes here in Washington, but also notably in California and British Columbia.

In this region, the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, and the Canadian Pacific Railway relied on rotaries to clear heavy snow. Accounts of the 1910 Wellington Disaster frequently mention the efforts of rotaries to keep Stevens Pass open, and it was only a shortage of coal that prevented them from continuing to clear snow. (X808 was one of those rotaries and is pictured here circa 1913.) Considered the “big guns” of snow clearing, rotaries continued to play a prominent role in winter railroading until well into modern times.

So what is a rotary snowplow? It is a giant wheel of cutting blades that spins into the snow, shaves off a layer of snow and then expels it to the side of the tracks. The plow itself is not self-propelled – one or more locomotives push it. Traditionally, blades were steam powered. Today the few rotaries remaining in service are diesel-electric.

Toronto, Canada Dentist J.W. Elliot invented the rotary snowplow in 1869 but a practical application was not tested until Leslie Bros. built Orange Jull’s design in 1883. Other manufacturers including Cooke soon manufactured variations on the concept.

The Northwest Railway Museum owns former Northern Pacific Railway steam rotary snowplow #10. Built in 1907, the plow was used extensively on Stampede Pass, a mountain pass used by the Northern Pacific just east of Auburn and a little south of the better-known Snoqualmie Pass. Retired in 1964 and donated to the Museum, rotary 10 can be viewed at the Snoqualmie Depot. Through the magic of QuickTime VR, you can view the inside of the cab here.