Category: Northwest Railway Museum

Russ Segner

Here is a chance to get some exercise and help the Snoqualmie Museum. I am recruiting a crew to help me disassemble steel shelving at a building in Kent over the weekend of August 3 and 4. The shelving is not particularly heavy or difficult to handle, I just want it to be handled carefully. It will be used in the new display hall at the museum.

If I get enough volunteers, it will get done in one day. So, if you can help part of either day, contact me at 425-228-7327 or russseg@gmail.com.

Sue VanGerpen

The Northwest Railway Museum proudly offers the 44^th edition of Santa Train, one of its many special events for families and biggest fund raiser of the year. You and your family are aboard a vintage train, watching scenic Cascade foothills outside your antique coach window, as you journey from North Bend to Snoqualmie, with wheels clickety-clacking beneath you. The train pulls into the station and Santa Claus waves from the platform. You alight from the train to the aroma of freshly-baked cookies. You hurry to the railway kitchen car for hot cocoa and coffee to go with your cookies. Santa awaits your family in the depot with a small gift for each child.

You and your family can be part of this Northwest tradition by ordering your Santa Train tickets today at www.trainmuseum.org. Santa (and cookies) await you!

The two-hour holiday celebration takes place November 24–25, and December 1–2, 8–9, and 14–15. Purchase your tickets now at www.trainmuseum.org. Buy soon — the Santa Train sells out in advance. Tickets are $20 per person age 2 and up. There are seven hourly departures, from 9 AM to 3 PM.

New this year:  A special needs Santa Train at 9:31 AM on Friday, December 14. Contact info@trainmuseum.org to order tickets.

Fascinating Facts about Santa Train

Museum volunteers bake over 24,000 cookies in the coal-fired ovens of the railway kitchen car every year for Santa Train, beginning at 5:00 AM to be ready for each day’s visitors.

The Depot Bookstore is brimming with gifts, ornaments, and books that are sure to delight.

The Museum’s Giving Tree offers the opportunity to share your holiday with someone who might not otherwise receive a gift. Simply bring a new, unwrapped gift with you to Santa Train and place it beneath the tree.

Sue Van Gerpen

The Northwest Railway Museum proudly salutes the birth of our country on July 1^st with a scenic train excursion through the Cascade foothills, including a ride past the top of Snoqualmie Falls. The train will operate on both Saturday and Sunday that weekend, but Uncle Sam will only be aboard on Sunday, July 1^st, ready to punch your train ticket. Come celebrate Independence Day with us!

Board the train in at 38625 SE King Street in Snoqualmie, at 12:01 pm, 1:31 pm, or 3:01 pm, or at 205 McClellan Streetin North Bend, at 12:26 pm or 1:56 pm. $10 children, $12 seniors, $15 adults, under 2 ride free. For more info, call 425-888-3030 or visit www.trainmuseum.org.

Experience the excitement of a working railroad while learning about the important role railroads played in shaping the character of the Pacific Northwest. The depot and bookstore are open 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily.

Sue Van Gerpen, Northwest Railway Museum

Click for detailed version

Guided tours of the Train Shed Exhibit Building at the Northwest Railway Museum are being offered on the first two trains most Saturdays and Sundays. Purchase a Tour Pass in the Depot Bookstore and ride the train to the Railway History Center.  Enjoy a docent-led tour of the exhibits in the Train Shed. Re-board the train and continue your trip. (Tours not available during Fathers Ride Free, Day Out With Thomas and Santa Train.)

Experience the excitement of a working railroad while learning about the important role railroads played in shaping the character of the Pacific Northwest. The Museum is open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily.

Click for detailed version

The Northwest Railway Museum is also offering full passenger service aboard its vintage railway each Saturday and Sunday through October 28th. The Museum will offer scenic rides through the Cascade Foothills to the top of Snoqualmie Falls. Round-trip excursions are 75 minutes long. Board in Snoqualmie at 38625 SE King Street at 12:01 pm, 1:31 pm or 3:01 pm, or in North Bend at 205 McClellan Street at 12:31 pm or 2:01 pm. $10 children, $12 seniors, $15 adults, under 2 free.

Sue Van Gerpen, Northwest Railway Museum

Mothers Ride Free on Mother’s Day (and the day before!)

The Northwest Railway Museum invites mothers of all ages to enjoy a free ride aboard our antique train, when accompanied by a paying child of any age. Passengers may board in Snoqualmie or North Bend for the 70-minute round trip. Passengers may get off at the halfway point, shop, eat lunch, or take a stroll and then return on any later train. Trains depart every 75 minutes beginning at 11:01 AM from the Snoqualmie Depot at 38625 SE King Street and at 11:31 AM from the North Bend Depot at 205 McClellan Street. Roundtrip fares are $10 (children 2-12), $15 (children 13-61), and $12 (children 62+). For more information, visit www.trainmuseum.org or call 425-888-3030.

Celebrate National Train Day May 12

National Train Day returns to the Snoqualmie Depot on May 12. Enjoy a dose of history while celebrating Mom. See historic Snoqualmie on a beautiful May day, visit the restored 1890 Snoqualmie Depot, ride a vintage train past the top of Snoqualmie Falls and celebrate all things train. It’s Amtrak’s 41st anniversary and a great day to celebrate!

Visitors to the museum experience the excitement of a working railroad while learning about the important role railroads played in shaping the character of the Pacific Northwest. The depot and bookstore are open to the public 10–5 daily.

Sue VanGerpen

The Northwest Railway Museum will officially resume full passenger service aboard its vintage railway on April 1. Each Saturday and Sunday through October*, the Museum will offer scenic rides through the Cascade foothills to the top of Snoqualmie Falls. Round-trip excursions are 75-minutes long and begin Sunday, April 1st. Board in Snoqualmie, 38625 SE King Street, 12:01 p.m., 1:31 p.m. or 3:01 p.m., or in North Bend, 205 McClellan Street, 12:31 p.m. or 2:01 p.m. $10 children, $12 seniors, $15 adults, under 2 ride free. For more, see www.TrainMuseum.org or call (425) 888-3030.

Train Shed Guided Tours

NEW: Guided tours of the Train Shed Exhibit Building will be offered on the first train every Saturday, beginning in late spring. Purchase a Tour Pass in the Depot Bookstore and ride the train to the Railway History Center. Enjoy a docent-led tour of the exhibits in the Train Shed. Re-board the train and continue your trip.

Parents Ride Free

Spring signals the return of the Museum’s popular programming: Mothers Ride Free (Mother’s Day Weekend) and Fathers Ride Free (Father’s Day Weekend.) Greatly anticipated are the return of the Museum’s other popular family programs, including Grandparents’ Grand Excursion, Halloween Train, Santa Train^® and Day Out with Thomas.

Day Out With Thomas™ Tickets Soon

This year the Northwest Railway Museum is the Pacific Northwest’s only host of the Day Out with Thomas event, scheduled for July 13 – 15 and July 20 – 22 at the Snoqualmie Depot. The $19 tickets go on sale at the Snoqualmie Depot’s Bookstore and via TicketWeb beginning April 25. Tickets are on sale to Museum Members now. Members may buy their Day Out With Thomas tickets for $18. Purchase your membership at www.TrainMuseum.org.

Experience the excitement of a working railroad while learning about the important role railroads played in shaping the character of the Pacific Northwest. The depot and bookstore are open 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily.

*Regular round-trips suspended during Day Out With Thomas™, July 14-15 and 21-22.

Ken Liesse

The Northwest Railway Museum will be operating the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad this coming Friday, August 5, 2011, presenting a rare weekday opportunity to ride the rails between Snoqualmie and North Bend. They will run a full four-train summer schedule. Departure times from Snoqualmie are 11:01, 12:31, 14:01 and 15:31.

There will also be Friday departures on the 19th, in conjunction with the Snoqualmie Railroad Days that weekend. So come out and get in a train ride during this beautiful summer!

Sue VanGerpen

On Father’s Day weekend, June 19–20, at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, fathers ride free all weekend, when accompanied by their paying children of any age! Last year over 500 dads enjoyed a free ride with their children during the two-day event.

Trains depart from the Snoqualmie Depot, 38625 SE King Street, every 75 minutes beginning at 11:01 AM, and from the North Bend Depot, 205 McClellan Street, beginning at 11:26 AM. Roundtrip fares are $8 for children ages 2-12, $12 for children ages 13-61, and $10 for children ages 62 and up!

JJ Johnston

Reserve Saturday, June 26, at 10 AM, for a day-long train celebration at the Snoqualmie Northwest Railway Museum and the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. Join Scott Buckley, Olympia Clinic Chair and his GOPHERS (Greater Olympia Prototype History & Engineering Research Society) and the Eastside Get Together Clinic in a day of festivities at the NWRM. Activities include speeder rides from the restored Victorian depot to the Conservation & Resource Center, where you will be guided by Eastside member and museum volunteer Russ Segner to see the current coach being restored and the amazing preservation workshop and facilities. Russ will then direct you to the recently completed 25,000 square foot equipment shelter building for the Museum’s collection of Northwest locomotives and historic rolling stock. You can catch the train ride there or return to the depot by speeder where you can also board the train.

Next comes the Snoqualmie train ride to North Bend and Snoqualmie Falls. Round trip train rides are available from noon until 3 PM. There you may have an hour or so stopover in North Bend before returning to the Depot. Don’t eat too much; you need to be ready for the Sabol family BBQ.

Jim “The Grillinator” Sabol and his capable assistant chef, Mary, will serve kosher hot dogs, salads and soft drinks. We will congregate at the Depot’s park picnic tables, meet new friends and modelers, and indulge in the Sabol food fest. There’s still time to photograph the extensive array of historical rolling stock and locomotives, tour the turn-of-the-century depot with its library and historical exhibits, video the train, view the vintage sawmill equipment on the premises, or even go across the street to a micro-brewery or have dinner in town (if you could possibly still be hungry).

Here’s the deal:

1. Wear suitable shoes for stepping over the rails (never on) and for boarding speeders, trains, car steps, and treading on ties and ballast.
2. Arrive and park near the depot area between 10:00 and 10:30 AM.
3. Immediately register with JJ Johnston at the 4D registration table.
4. Pay $10 per person and JJ will give you your Train Ride Ticket and your Registration Name Tag. You’ll need your Name Tag for all the day’s events and the Sabol dog spectacular. Your $10 only pays for the train ride ticket. We ask you to consider a donation to the museum. The museum would like you to volunteer and get involved in the numerous activities available, from restoration to conductor to running speeders. We can do important work to help preserve this amazing historical landmark, a working railroad and its equipment, for future generations.
5. Give generously!

We’ll see you there. For more information and driving directions visit www.trainmuseum.org.