April wine train

When a museum guest asks if they can check out the Cab, we usually assume they are referring to a locomotive.  However, during Snoqualmie Wine Train events they are almost always talking about a Washington Cabernet from one of the fine Snoqualmie - area wineries including Sigillo Cellars, Mt Si Winery, Pearl and Stone Winery, Convergence Zone Cellars, and William Grassie Wine Estates.  

The Northwest Railway Museum kicked off the 2019 Snoqualmie Wine Train season on April 27.  140 guests enjoyed wine, Train Shed exhibits, live music from Tinkham Road, a train excursion through the woods, and even access to the Conservation and Restoration Center where they viewed ongoing work on Northern Pacific Railway locomotive 924 and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach 213.

A new feature during month's event was the opportunity to view demonstrations in the Conservation and Restoration Center.  Volunteers and Staff including Lyle, Gerry, Gary, Bob, and Wayne explained what the machines were used for and then demonstrated how they worked.  Lyle gave a demonstration of the huge lathe once the centerpiece of Puget Sound Energy's Snoqualmie Falls power station machine shop.  

The Snoqualmie Wine Train is the Museum's newest event series; it was first introduced in 2018.  The event features a train excursion, live music, wine tasting, and a museum visit.  Museum Staff and Volunteers including Elizabeth, Cristy, Jessie, and Kacy planned this year's events.  A total of five are offered in 2019; events through June are available for advance purchase now.   

The next Snoqualmie Wine Train will be May 18 and will feature a tasting experience at the Snoqualmie Falls Hydro Electric Museum.  Tickets are available on the Museum's ticketing web site.  Proceeds from Snoqualmie Wine Train events support programs of the Northwest Railway Museum.  Join us for a great afternoon, and the opportunity to support heritage and historic preservation!

Pressure builds on the 924 project!

If "bake a cake" is old railroad slang for building up steam in a locomotive, then you could say that the restoration crew at the Northwest Railway Museum has been mixing a lot of batter lately.  With major boiler issues either already addressed or with a plan to mitigate, preparations for the first pressure test of the boiler are nearing completion.

Over the past several weeks, the dry pipe has been "lapped" with the throttle body and the branch pipe manifold, the throttle valve has been lapped, and the components reassembled inside the boiler.  (Lapping is the process of grinding and polishing the mating surfaces to allow them to fit together without leaking.)  Then the boiler was filled with water to check for leaks.  Some minor leaking was detected around several new rivets and some of the new stay bolts, but nothing serious.

Gary James is a shipwright who usually leads the work on coaches and other wood projects, but he has a very diverse skill set, and some great tools, too.  His borescope displays an image on his phone and was inserted into the dry pipe to check for any leaks.  He found the assembly leak-free, at least under atmospheric pressure.

Meanwhile, the copper gasket for the steam dome was annealed by heating it with a torch and quenching it in cold water.  This makes the copper soft and prepares it to take shape as the dome lid is tightened down.  This thin ring of copper provides the steam seal.

Lastly, the dome lid was replaced and tightened down.  Machinist Gerry Petitjean did the honors and verified the lid was pulled evenly against the gasket.  The water was filled all the way to the top and the last of the air was exhausted so the entire vessel could be inspected for leaks.  

What is next?  In the coming weeks water in the boiler will be heated to around 30 degrees C.  Then a small hand pump will be used to raise the pressure in the boiler to approximately 200 psi.  This process will identify any remaining leaks, or other issues that need to be addressed.  When all the remaining leaks are repaired, the hydro-static test will be repeated for the Federal inspector.

The Museum is grateful for 4Culture, Washington Heritage Capital Fund, Schwab Fund, Osberg Family Trust, Emery Rail Heritage Trust, Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, and more than 100 individuals for their support in funding the restoration of the 924.

Want to see and learn more?  Join us for the Snoqualmie Wine Train on Saturday, April 27 beginning at 2:30 PM in the Snoqualmie Depot.  Your Wine Train experience will include a visit to the Conservation and Restoration Center to see locomotive 924.

Wine trains return

The Northwest Railway Museum debuted the Snoqualmie Valley Wine Train in 2018, and it was enthusiastically received by the community.  This year the event has been enhanced by offering two options: the Railway History Center CRC option and the Charles Baker Hydro Museum experience.  The first opportunity to ride this year is April 27 beginning at 2:30 PM!

All Wine Train experiences feature Snoqualmie Valley wineries, food, music, and views! Visitors (21 and older only) receive a complementary souvenir wine glass with each ticket.

The Snoqualmie Wine Train series is hosted in partnership with several, rotating local wineries, food producers, and chocolatiers with fresh, locally produced products from Sigillo Cellars, Mt Si Winery, Pearl and Stone Winery, Convergence Zone Cellars, William Grassie Wine Estates, Carnation Farms, Heirloom Cookshop, Black Dog Cafe, and Boehm's Chocolates.

The Railway History Center option is a 3.5 hour program that includes wine tasting stops at the Snoqualmie Depot and the Train Shed Exhibit Building. Railway History Center Wine Train includes behind-the-scenes access to our Conservation and Restoration Center where you will learn about the restoration of Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924 (built 1889) from staff and volunteers working on this and other projects. Must be 21 or older. Ticket includes return passage to Snoqualmie.

The Charles Baker Hydro Museum option is a 3.5 hour program that includes wine tasting stops at the Snoqualmie Depot, the Train Shed Exhibit Building, and the Snoqualmie Falls Hydro Museum – home of the world’s first underground hydroelectric power plant that was built in 1898. Visit the historic carpenter’s shop and Snoqualmie Falls Depot, and learn about Charles Baker’s vision inspired by the power of Snoqualmie Falls!


All Snoqualmie Wine Train experiences at for 21 and over only.  Tickets are $49 and are available in advance on the Museum's ticketing web site.

Day Out With Thomas 2019

Toot, toot, toot!   The Northwest Railway Museum is pleased to welcome Thomas the Tank Engine back to Snoqualmie, Washington this summer.  Day Out With Thomas will steam into the Snoqualmie Valley July 12 - 14 and July 19 - 21, 2019.


Thomas the Tank Engine is a popular children's storybook character that first appeared in print in 1945.  Today, he has a world-wide following, and we are so happy to welcome him back to the Snoqualmie Depot for his 17th annual visit. 

Day Out With Thomas is a fun-filled family event that includes not just a ride with Thomas the Tank Engine, but live music, train tables, story time, Thomas and Friends videos, a Thomas bouncy castle, motor car rides, and more.  Your ticket includes everything except food and merchandise.

This year there are two sensory-friendly trains offered for families with special needs.  One train will be on Friday, July 19 and the other on Sunday, July 21.  If this is an option that will best-serve your family, please email the Museum at info@TrainMuseum.org to request ticketing.

Tickets for this popular event are available through TicketWeb, but may also be purchased in the Depot Bookstore in the Snoqualmie Depot, daily between 10 AM and 5 PM.

Coaching an old coach

Coach 213 platform "B"

The Northwest Railway Museum has operated an interpretive railway since 1967.  Since then, millions of people have ridden the train, and coaches have traveled thousands of miles.  One of the longest-serving cars is coach 213, a former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway coach built by Barney and Smith in 1912.  It is a sister to coach 218 - which was extensively rehabilitated and restored earlier this decade - and is built predominantly of wood. These two cars represent typical intercity passenger coaches used throughout Washington in the period prior to WW II.

Now it is coach 213's turn: it is being completely rehabilitated, but unlike the 218 this work is being performed in phases so the car may remain in service during peak periods.  With support from King County 4Culture's Heritage Capital program, major work has already been performed.

A renewed clerestory window

Over the last two years, all the 213's clerestory windows have been removed for rehabilitation.  The zinc came that retains the individual pieces of glass has been renewed, and any broken or missing colored glass has been replaced. The mahogany frames have been stripped of old finishes, repaired as necessary, and refinished with varnish on the interior and an epoxy primer on the exterior.  These windows will be installed as soon as a new canvas roof is applied.

Upper window sashes after re-installation

Meanwhile, the upper "elliptical"  sashes have been removed, rehabilitated and reinstalled.  These window sashes required a little more work that the clerestory windows because all but one were missing their colored glass panels.  The Museum's incredible team of volunteers and staff restored the original zinc came and produced the missing glass.  The effect is stunning, particularly when the sun passes directly through the milky green glass.

New platform trap

The platforms on the end of a wood coach are particularly susceptible to deterioration.  Mechanical wear and exposure to the elements are the chief factors, and improving the weather-resistance of the structure is key to its preservation.  The platforms were taken apart, deteriorated steel components were replaced, and missing or deteriorated wood was replaced.  Platform traps were patterned, manufactured, and installed.  Meanwhile, the hand brake stand was rebuilt and a new brake handle installed. 

New door and windows

The platforms have many components and are one of the more complicated areas of the car to work on.  Included in the scope work was replacement of four windows with elliptical tops, four platform doors also with elliptical tops, and even the platform ceilings where new LED platform lamps have now been installed. For now, this work will mostly appear in gray primer, but as the work advances everything will be colored SP&S coach green to match coach 218.

Car body siding has been addressed too.  Extensive reworking of the cladding is sealing it from the weather and preparing it for the final color coats. And the next step will be rehabilitating the roof deck and re-applying a canvas roof.  Exciting days are ahead for coach 213!

213 with reworked cladding appearing in gray primer

Looking to the Future

Railway History Center Master Site Plan schematic

The Northwest Railway Museum has been developing the Railway History Center in Snoqualmie for more than ten years.  Today, it consists of three buildings - CRC, Train Shed, and REC - but the Master Site Plan includes a fourth structure that is intended to provide expanded exhibits and public programming.  The Roundhouse structure has been envisioned as a modern building with design motifs peculiar to railroad locomotive roundhouses of the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

NPR roundhouse at Lester, circa 1910

After an investment of more than $10 million, the Railway History Center is already a facility that provides for collection care, exhibits, excellent programming, a research library, administration, and even a classroom.  The next step is a space to expand the depth and breadth of interpretation, which will help fulfill the Mission and expand the audience. 

At the annual Northwest Railway Museum Volunteer Banquet held on March 2, 2019 the Museum announced to its volunteers that the fourth building concept is going to be studied.  The Master Site Plan approval includes environmental clearance and has a finite life.  In the next few years, the Museum has to decide if it will be built, and if so what it will include. Features, design elements, or considerations being studied and already provided for in the current city approvals include provisions to,

• Prominently feature operating models to illustrate interpretive themes and provide context for featured exhibits
• Provide permanent homes in fully conditioned space for King County and City of Snoqualmie Landmarks including Puget Sound Electric Railway 523, Northern Pacific Railway rotary snow plow 10, Chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace, and Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive 924
• Provide for off peak train operations, possibly featuring Puget Sound Electric Railway car 523
• Include adaptive space that may be used for large groups including banquets
• Provide additional support facilities for programs and events including laundry, kitchen and locker rooms
• Allow for additional visitor and volunteer parking

The Museum is merely in the study phase right now, but the possibilities this final phase of the Railway History Center presents makes this a truly exciting time for railway history in Western Washington.  The parameters of the study were still being formed at the time of this writing, but consultant will be hired this spring.  The Museum hopes to announce the results of the planning exercise later this year.

February continues to scream!

Northern Pacific Railway Rotary 10

More snow.  Incredibly, it has continued to snow in Snoqualmie and North Bend.  It is difficult to accurately measure accumulations because of the high winds, so let's stipulate, "a whole bunch of snow."  And this was not just any snow, it was Cascade Concrete, a really wet snow that is incredibly slippery and has very high density.  

Snoqualmie Depot

Cascade Concrete was the frozen slurry that descended on Wellington in the infamous avalanche of 1910, and made it particularly difficult to extricate survivors. It is snow that has a particularly high water ratio.  Today's snow had a 3:1 ratio.  So three inches of snow would equal one inch of rain.  Snow in other parts of the country might normally have a water ratio of 10:1.  So ten inches of snow would equal one inch of rain.  Notwithstanding, check out today's snowy views of the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.  And, as always, click on the image to see it in high resolution.

Bridge 35 in North Bend

Railway Education Center

Train Shed foyer

Cars and locomotives outside the CRC

Rear side of Train Shed

East end of Train Shed foyer