Thursday, May 30, 2019

Snoqualmie Depot


The Snoqualmie Depot is the oldest continuously operated train station in Washington State, because the offices of the Northwest Railway Museum moved into the depot before the last BNSF offices moved out in 1975. Several artifacts are presented around the depot.


The restored freight room hosts the Museum Book Store with more exhibits.


The item that excited me the most here is the interlocking machine that used to be located at Black River Junction where the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Chicago, Milwaukee, & Pudget Sound Railroad, and the Pacific Coast Railroad meet, ten miles south of Seattle Union Station.


This must have been a quite busy junction. The tables in the lower half show the possible routes and which levers need to be set to reverse (i.e. not normal) for that route in which sequence, so that turnouts and signals are set correctly. The various pictograms on the board are interesting, too. Even the tower location is marked.


Outside the depot ALCO RSD-4 and several cars were moved around by a switcher. Of the many photos I took of #201 in varying settings, I like this shot in the bright sun in the park behind the depot the most.


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