NEW — 6:00 a.m. Oct. 13, 2010
Supporters of the Northwest Railway Museum gathered Oct. 2 to dedicate the Train Shed at the museum’s Railway Historic Center.
About 180 people climbed onto the museum’s restored train for the one-mile trip from the Snoqualmie Depot to the center’s campus to the south.
Museum Director Richard Anderson directed the celebration that followed months of work and delays.
Two trees were planted at the event, to signify the importance of the forest industry to the region. At the turn of the century, Fred Weyerhaeuser bought 900,000 acres from James J. Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railway, and then created his timber company.
A Douglas fir was dedicated and planted by dignitaries attending the event. A Western red cedar was dedicated by the children in the group as a symbol of the future.
The Train Shed will eventually serve as the museum’s main exhibition building. With 1,200 feet of track in the semiconditioned building, it can hold as many as 24 train cars and other exhibits.
It could be a “game changer” for the museum, and help it become a regional, even national draw, Anderson said.
Museum officials had hoped to hold some events in the building for Railroad Days in August, but construction supply problems held the project up for nearly six months.
Filed Under Community