Northwest Railroading

[Chief]

I finally got around to downloading my digital camera from our recent vacation and have been sorting out 176 images.

We went through Snoqualmie Falls, and dropped by the Northwest Railway Museum that is there. Snoqualamie pretty much exists because of the railroad, and the timber supply that is readily available nearby. It used to be a wayover spot for trains to water and fuel up before they tackled the pass for points East, and a place to take a rest and get refueled for the final run in the other direction into Seattle.

Here are a selection of pictures I took of the rolling stock they have on the side up there. Pretty neat, and a lot of it just begs for restoration, and to be run again...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL046.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL044.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL045.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL048.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL047.jpg

That last shot is a picture of the crankcase on one of the high-torque locomotives that they used to run logs down out of the mountains. Instead of the stam cylinders cranking the wheels directly, there are four vertical pistons turning a crankshaft, which gear-drove the drive wheels via a driveshaft. It doesn't go very fast, but you could pull the world with it...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL051.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL050.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL052.jpg

You can see how little welding there is on the frames for these cars. Everything is either bolted or hot-riveted together.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL035.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL033.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL034.jpg

I took those pics for my cousin who likes to model projectl like this. This is a little log car; you would use one at each end of a set of logs, and just chain the logs down. Note the date on the grease cup cap in the last pic...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL032.jpg

The museum is housed in the old Depot that has been totally restored, and is something to see on the inside...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/SeniorChieftain/RAILROAD/October102007DL042.jpg

Can't you imagine some Senator making speeches off the back of that gondola? It was probably a prety neat place to stand and have a smoke while the train was rolling...

[Waterbuffalo]

Do you know what ever happened to the old trains that used to sit in Esther Short Park after they went to Battle Ground?

thanks for the pictures Chief..

[Chief]

There was one locomotive that used to be out at Battle Ground Park that I believe is under restoration right now.

Don't a couple of those engine just scream to be restored?? I wonder if the gage is the same as the Chelatchafloozy RR that runs up to Yakoltistan....

;D

Those log car shots are going to my counsin, because wooden scratch-bilt rolling stock like that is right up his alley. He's a big HO gage model railroader, and several of his projects have been featured in Model Railroader Magazine. I'll have to dig up some of the pics he's sent me...

[Waterbuffalo]

I do believe from reading the old rag and tag about the time that the City or who ever owned the gifted them to some volunteers up there.

Don't remember if they hauled them up there in parts or they took them up there behind a Chelacthie RR Train that was from a previous operator of that railroad.

In some of the articles, they have been screaming for volunteers to help them with those trains from my memory. But I was reading the articles from the internet from bellingham at the time, so my memory of the subject probably is faulty.