Day Out With Thomas with a destination!

Thomas the Tank Engine returned to the Snoqualmie Valley in July, but it wasn't just any visit.  During last year's pandemic closure, the Northwest Railway Museum made many site improvements to the Railway History Center.  This prepared the new campus for its first-ever visit with Thomas the Tank Engine!

Prior Day Out With Thomas events were held in historic downtown Snoqualmie.  The grounds around the Snoqualmie Depot were fenced off, tents were erected, and a variety of event-related infrastructure was set up to support the event.  This resulted in successful events, but the site was smaller than the Museum preferred, and it was costly to provide all the temporary infrastructure.

The "new" Day Out With Thomas was a very different experience: Thomas the Tank Engine took all his guests to a museum.  

Passengers boarded the train downtown at the historic Snoqualmie Depot for a short excursion to the Railway History Center.  They arrived and were greeted with a Thomas-themed museum experience that included a visit with Sir Topham Hatt, live music by Eric Ode on the BIG Cedar Tree Stage, bubble tables, a hay bale labyrinth, outdoor games, model trains and more.  

Guests got to tour the exhibit hall and see steam locomotive 924, the chapel car, and even tour a caboose.  Then they boarded a train with Thomas the Tank Engine for a SECOND excursion that took them to Snoqualmie Falls, and then safely returned them to the Snoqualmie Depot.

The "new" Day Out With Thomas was so successful that a second event is now planned for September 11 & 12, 2021.  Why not let Thomas take you on a trip?  Please visit Thomas.TrainMuseum.org for more details or to purchase tickets.

Creating the Japanese Railroad Workers Exhibit

Exhibits take lots of time, planning, research and resources to create, the Museum’s new Japanese Railway Workers exhibit is no exception.  The process began in 2018 when staff members discussed the railways’ connection to the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company that the history of the Japanese community there was an important story that was not regularly told to the wider community.  Seeing this gap in historical interpretation, the Museum felt that creating an exhibit to share this unique history was important. 

Jessie Cunningham, the Museum’s Deputy Director began the research process and applied for a 4Culture grant to produce it.  Ms. Cunningham worked with Robert Fisher at the Wing Luke Museum, as well as Densho and the Snoqualmie Valley Museum. She also independently researched the topic to begin creating what became the exhibit.  Inspired by her research, the exhibit grew from just focusing on Japanese Railway Workers at the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co to also introducing the wider history of Chinese and Japanese Railway Workers.

One major challenge Ms. Cunningham found in the research phase was the lack of information and having to piece the story together from limited resources. But of course, that is why the story is so important!

Cristy Lake, the Museum’s Collection Registrar, is also the Assistant Director at the Snoqualmie Valley Museum and helped Jessie in her research throughout the project.  Dave Battey, a Snoqualmie Valley Museum board member and official historian for the town of Snoqualmie Falls, provided research material including a powerpoint created by the now closed Weyerhaeuser Archives and digital copies of documents from the George Abe family. 

The Wing Luke Museum and Densho provided many images and Densho also provided the an oral history interview with a former resident of Snoqualmie Falls. Special thanks to Dana Hoshide from Densho for helping obtain usage permission.

In 2019, 4Culture awarded a grant to create the exhibit. Ms. Cunningham spent much of 2019 researching and creating text for the sections of the exhibit. When, later that year, Ms. Cunningham took a position at another organization, Ms. Lake took over completing the exhibit.  Ms. Lake worked with Arisa Nakamura and Emily Halladay-Ptaček-Choi of Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington to provide feedback and recommendations on the content and with Northwest Railway Museum staff members Richard Anderson, Emily Boersma and Peggy Barchi to review the final exhibit content drafts.

Due to space limitations, after much review, the exhibit was streamlined. This proved a difficult task as there were so many important stories waiting to be told. After much work, the exhibit content was sent to Lee Ater of Lot22 Creative who designed the exhibit panels.  Gary James, the Museum’s Shipwright, fabricated the panel stands. Arscentia printed the panel text and images.

In all, the exhibit would not have been possible without the collaboration of numerous people, organizations and businesses; hundreds of hours of work; and supported with grants from 4Culture and the the Quest for Truth Foundation, and by the Museum's general fund.

You can visit this new exhibit in the Museum’s Train Shed Exhibit Hall, currently open Wednesdays through Mondays, 11am to 4pm.

Japanese railroad workers in Snoqualmie

Japanese immigrants to Washington were influential in railway construction, and other industries including forestry. Workers of Japanese ancestry made up the largest ethnic group of workers at the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company, outnumbering even Scandinavian immigrants.

Japanese immigrants settled in several regions of the country, but the Northwest was a particularly popular destination. This new exhibit acknowledges the role of Japanese immigrants and their children in the construction of railroads, but also in the success the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company.  

In the Snoqualmie Valley, the earliest known Japanese connection was through the construction of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway.  The Chinese exclusion act combined with Japan's emergence from isolationism to position Japanese immigrants as the predominant group recruited for railroad construction and maintenance in this region.  Usually, a contractor provided a Japanese worker to a railroad, and that worker was then required to pay a fee to said contractor, often as much as 10 cents a day.

Persons of Japanese ancestry were part of the fabric of Snoqualmie Falls, but it was an imperfect tapestry: persons of Japanese ancestry lived in a separate bunkhouse or a different part of the community than those of European ancestry.  However, they did attend the same schools. 

The Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company - and the Snoqualmie Valley - was devastated by the 1942 incarceration of persons of Japanese ancestry.  Overnight, this Weyerhaeuser Timber enterprise lost a significant portion of its work force, and these people - many of whom were either born American citizens or had been living in the United States for decades (Asian immigrants had no path to citizenship) - were interned in camps only because of their ethnic origins.

Japanese Railroaders was funded in part by 4Culture and the Quest For Truth Foundation.  It is a permanent exhibit at the Northwest Railway Museum and is open now in the Train Shed, 9320 Stone Quarry Road, Snoqualmie, WA, Thursday - Sunday, 11 am - 5 pm.

Sign language

Successful heritage tourism is an important goal in our local community, and to successfully attract an audience there are many preconditions.  However, being able to successfully find and then identify the Northwest Railway Museum is one of the key requirements.

Over the last few years, the Museum has been working with Lot22 to develop a successful brand and apply it to every aspect of the marketing effort.  The most recent efforts involve new signage in Snoqualmie.

The "original" Snoqualmie Depot monument sign was installed in 1974, and no longer reflected the image the Museum wanted to convey.  A new sign was developed by Lee A. at Lot22 and fabricated by Northwest Sign.  It incorporates elements of the Museum's brand awareness and includes a reference to the Museum, Depot Bookstore, and the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad.  Construction features a massive cedar plank, and installation was completed by Floyd.

The Museum includes several sites in the upper Snoqualmie Valley and visitors have often been confused about the interconnectedness.  Landscape artist J. Craig Thorpe created a watercolor map to illustrate the operating territory of the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad and identify stops and connected attractions, but chiefly to show where the various parts of the Museum are located.  These new way finding maps are being placed at the Rotary Snowplow at the foot of the Snoqualmie Parkway, and by the exhibit building at the Railway History Center.  Later, another map will be placed at the Snoqualmie Depot.

Though elegant and simple in design, these new signs represent a significant investment of time and money.  The Northwest Railway Museum is grateful for the vision and design work contributed by Lee A., and for the funding contributed by the City of Snoqualmie from the Lodging Tax Fund.  And special thanks to Floyd for installing them!

Restoring a truss - part one

Parlor car 1799 was built by Pullman in 1901.  After 38 years of service for the Northern Pacific Railway, the car found a second use as a seaside cottage.  That new adaptive use removed the distinctive truss rods, queen posts, and needle beams from the wooden car's underbody that supported the car while in service.  These components were vital for the car frame to span from one truck to the next, but no longer required once the car was set on a foundation.  So naturally for the car to return to its appearance and function as a railroad parlor car, the trusses required restoration.

The parlor car was moved from Whidbey Island on Puget Sound to the Northwest Railway Museum using a temporary steel frame.  This adjustable device had been used to move countless homes and served the same purpose for the parlor car.  Once unloaded at the Museum, the car was supported with wood and steel car stands, but to allow the car to return to its former glory as a Pullman parlor car, the truss had to be replaced.

The Museum was fortunate to have retained the needle beam and queen posts from a former Canadian Pacific officials car.  These hardware components were standardized by the Master Car Builders, the forerunner of today's Association of American Railroads.  So the queen posts and needle beams manufactured in the Hochelaga Shops of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal were visually and functionally nearly identical to the components manufactured by the car builder in Pullman, Illinois.

The rehabilitation and restoration of parlor car 1799 to its appearance and function during the early 20th Century is being supported in part by a grant from the Heritage Capital Projects program of the Washington State Historical Society.  Many staff costs are used to meet the obligatory cost share and are funded by the Museum's operating budget, which has been seriously compromised by the closure necessitated by the pandemic.  Your support helps this project continue through to completion, and ensure the museum continues to serve its educational purposes.  

Please consider a contribution to GiveBig 2021.  Your support will help this project overcome the pandemic.

Steam test 2021

Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924 was fully rehabilitated and restored over a period of five years.  It made its debut on 1 November 2020 with passenger runs from Snoqualmie and North Bend.  Yet with any steam locomotive, maintenance and inspection are ongoing responsibilities.  

Steam locomotives require an annual inspection and test of the boiler.  This work includes a series of visual and other non-destructive tests, followed by a hydrostatic test of the boiler at 125% of operating pressure.  Then a steam test is performed during which the safety valves must demonstrate that they lift and seat at the required pressures.

The 924 received its annual test in April 2021, and a portion of the test was witnessed by an inspector from the Federal Railroad Administration.  There were no anomalies reported, and the locomotive boiler was declared fit for service.  This was also the first time the complete new locomotive jacketing was displayed; continuing tests and rehabilitation did not allow the new jacket to be installed until this past winter.  The jacketing project was funded in part by the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association; the Museum is grateful for their support.

Pandemic-era restrictions are particularly difficult for steam trains  because of the higher operating costs.  Fewer passengers places the cost per passenger much higher that normal. Notwithstanding, the Museum has committed to operating steam trains on at least two upcoming weekends: Mother's Day Weekend and Father's Day Weekend, when they will operate on two hour return schedules, and include a brief visit to the Train Shed exhibit hall.  

Do you want to see the 924 continue to run?  Please consider a Give BIG! 2021 donation now or on May 4 & 5 to the Northwest Railway Museum to help support operating of the Museum and the 924 during the pandemic.

Coal trains from Snoqualmie?

There is coal in the Snoqualmie Valley! 

"Soon there will be scores of rail cars full of sequestered carbon headed from Snoqualmie to power Seattle, and dozens of new local jobs mining the ore, too." 

Well, not quite, but almost a century ago an enthusiastic Mr. R.T. Warwick, Agent of the Northern Pacific Railway in Snoqualmie could easily have said such a thing. 

In 1925 the California Alaska Corporation was operating the Niblock Mine, which was extracting coal from two seams located near today's I-90 exit 27, just outside Snoqualmie city limits.  In a common move both then and now, Mr. Newenham of that venture had offered a glowing report light on evidence and advised that, 

"they have opened up number three vein and found it (to be) twelve feet thick, and a very high grade of coal."  

Agent Warwick dutifully reported this information to the railway company's traffic manager.  Statements like this were difficult to verify over distance, so these glowing reports usually went unverified, causing the value of mining company stock to rise, and sometimes even tricked railway companies into building rail lines that would never see enough traffic to recover the cost of construction, let alone operation.  The promise of coal and iron mines in the Snoqualmie Valley was part of what led to the construction of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway into the area.  Yet when the valley was connected by rail, it was its vast timber resources that dominated the local economy.

So a colliery was operated on and off by a series of three successive operators over a period of almost 40 years, but it never achieved any of the success found to the west in the mines of Issaquah, Newcastle, and Renton.  So there will not be any coal trains in Snoqualmie at any time in the foreseeable future.