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.