As the song goes, “I’ve been working on the railroad, all the live-long day.”
The Northwest Railway Museum is hoping Snoqualmie Valley residents will lend a hand for one night — no heavy lifting involved.
The museum’s annual benefit dinner and silent auction is scheduled for March 4 at the Salish Lodge & Spa.
Proceeds from the benefit will support restoration work on the museum’s Chapel Car 5, Messenger of Peace. The car dates back to the 19th century.
The museum is working on restoring it to its condition in 1917, when it visited North Bend for one week. The Messenger of Peace visited 11 states, including Washington, during its 50 years spreading the message of the American Baptist Church.
“It wasn’t just a train car, it was a church on wheels,” said Sue van Gerpen, the museum’s director of communications.
The American Baptist Church and several other denominations built chapel cars to reach far-flung communities. The Messenger of Peace served the longest of seven cars built by Baptists.
The car arrived in Washington in 1915, stopping in several communities with flagging congregations. In 1916, the minister on board noted in Spokane, “Hard proposition, church nearly dead.”
The pastors, who were often accompanied by their wives, had less than 200 square feet of living space onboard the car.
A dining room table, roll-top desk, bathroom, kitchen, closet and sleeping berths were squeezed into the tiny space.
“There was an upper and lower berth, so the pastor and his wife couldn’t even sleep together,” said Richard Anderson, the museum’s director.
Restoring the car could take as long as two years, he said.
The work list is long. Pews will have to be reconstructed, the original flooring restored, windows rebuilt and so on.
The car is currently at the museum’s restoration project center and is on schedule. Three experts are working full-time on the project.
The project is estimated to cost about $500,000. The museum has raised about $450,000, according to van Gerpen.
That includes $50,000 from Partners in Preservation, a grant program sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Express Foundation.
The benefit’s feature presentation will be “A Twentieth Century Missionary Method.” Performers from Valley Center Stage will recreate stories of life lived on the rails.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at www.trainmuseum.org and at the Snoqualmie Depot.
Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or [email protected]. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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