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The first trip of the day started with a steam-up at their train shed located about halfway between the Snoqualmie and North Bend town sites. Unfortunately there are no photos of the steam-up as some official told me to leave the parking lot. The locomotive burns wood although it was originally a coal burner. There was no physical change to the engine in switching to wood other than they operate with a boiler pressure of just 160 PSI (Pounds Square Inch). With a speed limit of 20 mph, and only 4 cars and diesel 4024 in tow, this is sufficient for their purposes. Due to the lack of run-around tracks at each end of the line a locomotive is used on each end of a train in a push-pull manner. Apparently only the steam engine provides the power.
All photos with this article were taken on Saturday, 11 May 2024, which was gratefully sunny and warm throughout the day.
NP 924 was built in 1899 by the Rogers Locomotive Works for the St. Paul & Duluth Railway as their number 74. The SP&D was absorbed by the NP in 1900 so the locomotive was renumbered 924. It was used in general switching of freight and passenger cars until retired in 1925. It was then sold to the Inland Empire Paper Company of Millwood, Washington, for use at their paper mill. In 1969 they donated the engine to the museum. Today, 924 is the last remaining Northern Pacific Railway 0-6-0 class L5.
This bright orange coloured diesel-electric switcher model RS-4TC was constructed by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1954. It was built with adjustable axles for potential use overseas on different gauge trackage. It was first owned by the United States Army Transportation Corps in Virginia, then transferred to the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., from where it was purchased by the Northwest Railway Museum in 2001. By 2018 it had been rehabilitated and is currently the museum's primary diesel locomotive.
SP&S 213 - Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway coach built by Barney & Smith in 1912 was purchased in 1977 from a private owner.
SP&S 218 - Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway coach built by Barney & Smith in 1912 was purchased in 1983 from Burlington Northern.
Un-marked - An unidentified coach of steel construction.
SP&S 272 - Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway Combine built by Barney & Smith in 1915 was purchased in 1977 from Burlington Northern.
In the summer of 1889 the Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Railway (SLS&E) introduced passenger service to the upper Snoqualmie Valley. The region was already a noted tourist destination before the arrival of the railway but it had been difficult to reach. Railway officials anticipated demand for Snoqualmie excursions and ordered construction of an elaborate depot.
Built by the SLS&E the depot's architectural style includes a variety of features that make the building stand out from other small town depots. Queen Anne style, a type of architecture popular in the late 19th century is most easily identified by its lack of symmetry, wrap-around porch, and dominant dormer. In the case of the Snoqualmie depot, this is most obvious where the turret and cupola are offset to one side at the rounded end of the depot, while the other end is square.
Special details also include the "eyebrow" dormer windows, the decorative window frames (similar to gingerbread style), and the original roof line which included decorative cresting. Also spectacular is the interior wood work, with the boards running diagonally in the ladies' and gentlemen's waiting rooms. This wood work, much of which is original, continues to amaze visitors over a century after the depot was built.
Opened to the public on 2 Aug 1890 the depot was served by regularly scheduled passenger trains until the 1920s.
Ownership of the depot changed along with the passing fortunes of the railway companies. In 1896 reorganization changed the railway name to the Seattle & International. In 1901 ownership passed to the Northern Pacific Railway, then in 1970, a merger created the Burlington Northern Railroad. In 1977 Burlington Northern donated the depot to the Northwest Railway Museum. Extensive rehabilitation and restoration was performed between 1978 and 1982. | |
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21 Sep 2017 - Museum Moves a Porter Tank Engine for Cosmetic Restoration
4 Sep 2020 - Northwest Railway Museum to Reopen Train Shed
21 Feb 2023 - Northwest Railway Museum Acquires Last Cascades Talgo Series VI Car
8 May 2024 - New Roundhouse Gallery Coming to Northwest Railway Museum
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Northwest Railway Museum Wikipedia
Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Railway
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association
Northern Pacific Railway Museum Toppenish | |
2022
Legare Street Press.
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