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. 

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.