Most Endangered Places 2017

Northern Pacific Railway Parlor Car 1799 listed for 2017.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is, "dedicated to saving the places that matter in Washington State and promoting sustainable and economically viable communities through historic preservation."  In each of the last 25 years, the Washington Trust has listed the Most Endangered Places, which are historic resources including buildings, vessels, and viewscapes threatened by redevelopment, environmental deterioration, or other influences.  The list is intended to raise awareness about these threatened or endangered resources, and is created through a public nomination process.

The 2017 list was announced on Saturday, May 20th at the Vintage Washington reception held in the St. Edward State Park Seminary Building in Kenmore, a facility itself included in the 2012 Most Endangered list. Included in this year's list is former Northern Pacific Railway parlor car 1799, now a beach-front cottage on Whidbey Island.

Parlor car 1799 is owned by the Shaw Family, who adore the car. However they hope to construct a more family-friendly cottage on the spot currently occupied by the car. Plans are to later in 2017 move the car to the Northwest Railway Museum where it can be exhibited inside the Train Shed, a preservation action befitting of a wooden Pullman car built more than 116 years ago.  

Two weeks ago the annual Seattle Foundation Give Big charitable giving event raised more than $13,000 in support of the Parlor Car move.  Additional support is welcome and encouraged. Contributions may be made to the NP Parlor car on the Northwest Railway Museum's donation page.

Thanks for supporting the Parlor Car!

Thanks to Give BIG more than $13,000 has been raised in support of moving the Parlor Car off the beach on Whidbey Island!  The former Northern Pacific Railway passenger car was built by Pullman in 1901 and was retired in 1941.  Adaptively reused as a cottage for more than 75 years, this incredibly complete early 20th Century wood passenger car will be moved to the Northwest Railway Museum, hopefully later this season.

Again, thank you to everyone who supported Give BIG 2017!

Saving a Pullman parlor car

Help the Northwest Railway Museum save a Pullman parlor car. GiveBIG today!

In the Golden Age of Rail Travel the parlor car was emblematic of luxury travel. Designed for day travel, this extra-fare car provided more room, individual seats, and often even a car attendant available at the push of a button.  

Parlor cars began to appear on American railroads in the 19th Century as an alternative to the classless coach seating of the era, which featured simpler and less comfortable seating.  And parlor cars tended to attract better-dressed and more refined individuals, and were the de facto first class seating equivalency to European railroads.  

Most Golden Age parlor cars were constructed of wood.  Many were retired and scrapped prior to World War II, and still fewer survived into the 1950s.  Yet one example was retired in 1941, purchased by a retired railroad man, and re-purposed as a seaside cottage on Whidbey Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. 

Northern Pacific Railway parlor car 1799 has been protected by a shelter and is largely intact.  Now owned by the Shaw Family, the car has been donated to the Northwest Railway Museum provided it can be removed from the island as soon as possible.

Join us in supporting acquisition of this Pullman-built parlor car with GiveBIG on May 10, 2017!  Contributions made through the Museum’s Seattle Foundation gateway between midnight and and 11:59 PM on Wednesday, May 10 will support transportation of parlor car 1799 to Snoqualmie.  As in prior years, this is an online initiative so donations are accepted only through the Museum’s Seattle Foundation gateway.   And you can schedule your donation anytime between now and May 10^th!

Give Big proceeds will be used exclusively for transportation costs, which may approach $67,000 for this car that weighs more than 80,000 pounds. Once received by the Museum, the process of listing, funding, and restoring the car will begin and when completed it will be able to operate with the Museum’s former Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924.  Please Give Big today!

New paint for antique locomotives

The Northwest Railway Museum interprets the role railroads played in the development and settlement of the Pacific Northwest, but it also provides the public with an opportunity to experience the excitement of a working railroad.  

Sister Air Force locomotive 4010,
Circa 1955.

The mainstays of the operating railroad are two 1953-built Baldwin locomotives that were formerly owned by the US Army. Their black paint scheme was oh so appropriate for their roles in the aftermath of the Six Day War, training soldiers in Virginia, provisioning bases in West Germany, or warehousing weapons at the chemical munitions depot in Oregon.  However, black is a difficult color to use in marketing the Museum.  Dark colors such as maroon are only a slight improvement.

A few years ago, the Museum initiated a branding effort and engaged Eye of Eye in Everett, WA to develop a new image. Later, a Board of Trustees-led effort developed a locomotive painting scheme in support of that image.  Earlier this year, the first locomotive entered the Conservation and Restoration Center for a general clean up, then preparation and priming to receive the new paint.  Former US Army 4024 was the first to receive the new livery; 4012 will follow later this year. 

Special thanks go out to Ronald Macdonald at Wesco for his help in matching paint samples, and to the great team at Fast Signs for their efforts in developing the paint masks for lettering the locomotive.

Cleaning and sanding.  A vacuum sanding system did wonders
for keeping dust under control.

Imron 2.8 polyester primer was used to seal the surface and
help make the locomotive's sheeting more rust resistant.

Imron 3.5 HG was used for the color coats.  Orange is a
particularly difficult color to apply so multiple coats were
required.  Numbering and chevron striping will be added later.

Happy 20th, Meadowbrook Farm!

The Northwest Railway Museum shares borders with many fabulous individuals and organizations. One of the largest neighbors is the Meadowbrook Farm, a public open space that preserves a prairie dating back prior to European/American settlement, to Native American settlements of the Snoqualmie Tribe.  By 1890, this prairie had become the world's largest hop ranch.

Meadowbrook Farm is central to the Snoqualmie Valley and incorporates land in both the Cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend.  A variety of public and private funders and organizations contributed to the assembly of more than 400 acres of public open space, which today is best known as the signature open space between Snoqualmie and North Bend.  It is also the open space that borders the Northwest Railway Museum, and helps preserve the context of this representative Washington State branch line.  Consequently, more than two miles of right of way will continue to border open space rather than housing developments.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the public open space purchase that created today's Meadowbrook Farm. The Northwest Railway Museum congratulates Local, Regional and State officials who cooperated to create this jewel of the Snoqualmie Valley, and the many local volunteers who contributed their time an talent to make this dream a reality!

Lighting up an anniversary

The Snoqualmie Depot is the Northwest Railway Museum's most recognizable landmark, and its signature exhibit.  Built in 1890, the Depot is a City of Snoqualmie, Washington Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is the centrepiece of historic downtown Snoqualmie and receives more than 80,000 visitors per year.

2017 is a Landmark year for the Northwest Railway Museum. It marks the 60th anniversary of the Museum, and the 50th anniversary of the Museum's excursion trains at the Museum in Snoqualmie. The Museum's Board of Trustees is marking the occasion with a notable improvement to the Depot: installation of a replica lamp to the gentlemen's waiting room. The lamp was produced by W.T. Kirkman of Ramona, CA and arrived in April 2017.

The Snoqualmie Depot opened during the late Victorian period when it was not uncommon for public facilities to provide separate accommodation for unescorted ladies. So the Depot was constructed with a separate ladies' and gentlemen's waiting room.  The largest and most distinctive room in the Depot is the gentlemen's waiting room. It features a semicircular wall, beautiful colored glass windows, and tongue and groove wall paneling. The clear vertical grain Douglas fir floor is another notable feature. And now, so is a replica of a 19th Century kerosene chandelier!

Special thanks to the 2016 Northwest Railway Museum Board of Trustee members whose contributions made this project possible. Now, we can light up an anniversary to remember!

Diamond Jubilee

Happy Anniversary! The Northwest Railway Museum was incorporated on March 14, 1957, 60 years ago today.  This Washington State nonprofit organization has come along way from its humble beginnings, and it continues to grow each year.  Check out a few photo highlights from the last 60 years, and enjoy the music courtesy of Tinkham Road.