Given infinite time and resources, we would love to rehabilitate the 6 and run her again, but she isn't as high on the list as other options. We have other projects that need we need to prioritize at the moment, so we haven't yet chosen the next steam locomotive for restoration.
Northern Pacific steam locomotive 924 up just past Snoqualmie Falls during a training run in 2025. Viewed from the front, right at the end of the Museum's tracks. A light cloud of steam surrounds the front of the locomotive on either side. The trees are still mostly green overhead, but a little bit of yellow is starting to show.
We try not to share photos of 924 too much to avoid giving people the impression we run her more often than we do, but can you blame us? She's so photogenic!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #steam #NP924 #railroads #museums #PNW #Snoqualmie
A southern green stinkbug perched on the photographer's thumb. It is a lovely shade of green with a light orange band that runs the entire perimeter of the insect. This is an agricultural pest that is invasive in Washington State much like the brown marmorated stinkbug everyone is more familiar with.
So many stinkbugs and cedar bits in this poor photographer's hair... An unexpected but darn good reason to wear a hat around steam.
Turns out these things come in other colors, but this species is also invasive!
Know your pests:
agr.wa.gov/departments/...
#WildlifeWednesdays #WildlifeWSaturdays?
Northern Pacific steam locomotive 924 at the start of the steel span of Bridge 35 over the Snoqualmie River. A stoker sits atop the tender. Late summer maple trees are still green all around.
A photo intended to be of the steam locomotive ends up out of focus as it instead focuses on the cedar tree branches above. The air pressure from the steam and the roof of the cab hitting the branches causes a massive shower of debris to rain down atop the steam locomotive and the photographer.
The immediate aftermath of the previous photo. 924's tender is covered in plant debris. The photographer is as well. The locomotive has come to a stop in front of the historic Snoqualmie Depot.
A photo of the front of 924, stopped in front of the Railway Education Center, which has the Northwest Railway Museum logo as a sign mounted on the front wall.
Maintenance of way means all kinds of maintenance, including trees! If trees aren't trimmed, their branches can scrape the sides of historic equipment... Or really mess up your nicely planned photo compositions.
#NRM #TrainMuseum #steamtrain #NP924 #railroads
This beautiful mural spotted by Joe Leingang features some familiar-looking locomotives. Any guesses on where it is? Comment below!
Saw this last night but was waiting until business hours to put it up on the fridge! ;)
Flowering currant just starting to bloom in focus in the foreground. In the background, Spokane, Portland & Seattle coach 272 rolls by during passenger service on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad.
It's shaping up to be a beautiful weekend for a train ride! This is the last weekend of Saturday-only passenger service, next weekend we'll be resuming Sunday passenger service as well!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #trainrides #PNW #Snoqualmie
That would be correct! This is a siding that is only used for static display so movement over this joint is rare to begin with and done very slowly when necessary.
A crude photoshop job of a balanced scale with a length of rail on the left and a cow on the right.
Rail sizes are based on their weight per yard, so 100 lb rail weighs 100 lb for every three feet of rail. The average length of a standard piece of rail was about 39 feet, so each section of 100 lb rail weighed 1,300 lb. That's about the weight of a cow!
An example of a transition rail joint on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. This is used on a siding that rarely sees equipment movement. The joint fits perfectly into the profile of the rails in a way that keeps both rails in alignment at the top. This particular joint connects 100 LB rail (100 RE) with what looks like 55 LB rail.
Did you know rail comes in different sizes? Railways use the same size rail everywhere when building new tracks, but when connecting to older track there may be a size difference. That's where a transition rail joint comes in!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #railroads #tracks #history
Thomas the Tank Engine with confetti streamers on either side. The Day Out With Thomas logo has music note decor and in swoopy bubble letters the tagline reads "Let's ROCK, Let's ROLL!". A red ticket-shape with white text reads "Tickets still available!" and the Museum's logo is in white beneath it.
What's that peep peeping in the distance? Why, it's Thomas the Tank Engine returning to Snoqualmie, WA for his 2026 Day Out With Thomas: Let's Rock, Let's Roll tour!
#thomas #DOWT #thomasthetankengine #NRM #TrainMuseum #PNW #Snoqualmie
TrainMuseum.org/Thomas
A photo of an exhibit inside the Train Shed Exhibit Hall. The exhibit depicts Asa Whitney's dream of a transcontinental railroad. Behind the pop-up banners, Canadian Pacific business car 25 is displayed. Standing near the exhibit, a transparent png of the mascot, Chuggy, waves to the camera.
Local black bears and classic teddy bear plush dressed as an engineer were the inspirations behind one of our children's interpretive mascots, Chuggy! He started out as our Story Time mascot but can also be found across interpretive signage for our hands-on activity stations.
A mother black bear with two cubs, heading away from the train tracks into the brush. In the background, Snoqualmie Valley Railroad 4012 approaches, headlight bright and horn blaring. The photo is a bit fuzzy from being so zoomed in, but the photographer was keeping an understandably safe distance away.
The same three black bears, now on the other side of the greenery, crossing Stone Quarry Road into much safer forest area.
Large predators like to use roads, including railroads, as easy pathways. It's convenient and might feel safe... Right up until a car or train comes along! We gave this black bear family a real fright a couple years back! #WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #bears #PNW #animals
Check out this photo of our 70 back in she ran at the @trainmuseum.bsky.social
Train Dreams was nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Song.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KibA...
Steam locomotive Northern Pacific 924 on Bridge 35 at night, one of the shots seen in the Train Dreams trailer. The locomotive is enveloped in its own steam clouds and the Museum's wood coaches, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 213 and 218 glowing behind it. The trees are illuminated by the bright headlight.
For those who tuned in to the Oscars and saw Train Dreams' four nominations, did you see our cameo? The trailer includes glimpses of NP 924 and the Snoqualmie Falls Depot!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #NP924 #steamtrains #railway #railroad #trains #TrainDreams #Oscars #AcademyAwards
What a lovely looking coach in the background of that photo! ;)
"Train Dreams," the haunting made-in-Washington Netflix drama that was nominated for four Academy Awards on Sunday, did not bring home an Oscars statuette.
The view of the lower Snoqualmie River Valley from aboard the locomotive . The trees and foliage in the foreground is all that stands between the edge of the railroad grade and the sheer drop down to the valley below. There is low lying fog that seems to follow the river's meandering path. Snow dusted evergreen trees poke out from the fog, helping contain it.
Look at this river valley view Museum staff got up by the falls when clearing the railway line after last week's snow. Wow!
#SnoqualmieFalls #SnoqualmieRiverValley #NRM #TrainMuseum #landscapes #PNW #snow #fog
The same closeup of the original poster, now with the mouth crudely rotated upside down into a smile. It is overlaid over Ward Sutton's Stan Kelly comic panel of the SICKOS guy looking through the window saying "YES.... HA HA HA... YES!" An inversion of the original meaning of the panel from the satirical comic published by The Onion, the sickos guy is instead cheering for genuinely positive news - in this context, cheering for someone safely moving out of the way of an oncoming train.
When the car in front of you sees the oncoming train and you get to watch them realize their folly and hurriedly get safely out of the way.
A dramatic, fuzzy closeup of the goofy expression from the poster in the first image.
TFW the car ahead decides to stop on the tracks and you know the train is coming through soon.
For more crossing safety information, check out this blog post! trainmuseum.org/railway-rule...
Rail Safety Poster issued by the Association of American Railroads in 1939 from the Museum’s Library & Archive collection. 2010.031.582 Features a steam train zooming forwards a crossing while a blue Volkswagen beetle is zooming towards the same crossing. A ghostly, almost comical depiction of the panicked locomotive engineer floats in the steam above the locomotive, hands raised and looking some degree of horrified and annoyed about the impending collision. In all caps the poster reads "WAIT! CROSS CROSSINGS CAUTIOUSLY"
This slightly goofy looking poster still has an important message. Always remember to Cross Crossings Cautiously! (NRM Library & Archive Collection 2010.031.582)
#NRM #TrainMuseum #safety #NRMarchives #railroads #trains #steam
There's something peep peeping Snoqualmie's way in the near future. Check back on the Museum's social media accounts in about a week. ;)
Future #WildlifeWednesdays posts from the Museum may contain a variety of visiting reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, and even some invertebrates. All will be tagged, of course, but if you are averse to seeing particular creatures, you may wish to use Bluesky's built-in filtering features.
The elk are an increasingly common sight in the Snoqualmie Valley. If you're lucky, you might even get to see them beside the tracks while aboard one of our train excursions!
The local elk herd stands on the train tracks just past the Northwest Railway Museum's Conservation & Restoration Workshop. The main cluster of them are all turned to face the camera, looking almost eerie. The track is covered in a blanket of snow.
The railway changed everything and has lasting effects that continue to this day. Wildlife is included under the umbrella of everything so how about a new #NRM tag theme for the critters that visit the Museum and its grounds?
#WildlifeWednesdays #TrainMuseum #elk #animals #PNW #snow #tracks #deer
It should go without saying, but please never do things like this. Most importantly, it's a danger to you, but driving off the edge of the road around train tracks can also damage the ties, rails, and/or the road edge itself.
A sports car with a spoiler parked on the train tracks intentionally. Its right rear tire is hanging off the edge of the road into the track bed. Out of frame, someone is taking photos of it using the track and the Snoqualmie Depot as a backdrop. Never do this. It is incredibly dangerous.
And yes, the locals do poke fun at people who stop too close to train tracks. To paraphrase one person, "Oh go easy on them, the railroad has ONLY been here for 130 years."
We do run the longest continuously-operating train depot in the state of Washington! ;)
#NRM #TrainMuseum #safety #trains
A ballast regulator parked at the very very end of the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad line, just past the North Bend Depot. It has its wings extended, reaching several feet out past the edge of the rail. On the left, a red food truck has wisely kept its distance.
If some of those trucks don't look too close to the track to you, this blog post might help illustrate how wide rail equipment can be! trainmuseum.org/railway-rule...
Or you can just take a look at some track maintenance equipment stopped in the same location. It's got quite the wingspan!