Snoqualmie

Depot

The Snoqualmie Depot is open 7 days a week year 'round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day; there is limited access during Day Out With Thomas and Santa Train events). 

There is no admission charge to visit the depot; hours are 10am to 5 pm.

Come and visit 

The Snoqualmie Depot has been restored to its turn of the century grandeur and is presented as an operating train station.  Museum visitors traveling on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad purchase their tickets from the original 1890 ticket window and are free to wander through most of the building.  However, what were once waiting rooms and a freight room are now exhibits about railroad history and the railroad experience.

Brief history 

The Snoqualmie Depot was constructed in 1890 by the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. It was used by successor companies Seattle and International Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, and the Burlington Northern Railroad.  

It is an unusually elaborate structure given the size of Snoqualmie in the 1890s and managed to survive relatively intact until the railroad abandoned the line in 1975.   However, age and railway-initiated modifications  changed the appearance significantly and it was no longer easy for people to recognize it as a functional train station.

Request for Proposals to build the Snoqualmie Depot, Tuesday, May 13th, 1890, Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Rehabilitation and restoration 

The Northwest Railway Museum rehabilitated and restored the Depot to its turn of the 20th Century appearance in 1981.  Restoration added back the distinctive turret above the ticket office and two eyebrow dormers that were removed in a 1948 renovation. Several improvements were also added including heating, new electrical systems, fire protection and public restrooms.

In 1996, the distinctive cedar shingle roof was replaced in kind, one of many ongoing responsibilities of maintaining a 19th Century wooden structure.

In 2010, the public restrooms were removed and updated to meet current building code and ADA requirements. Subway tile flooring and backsplashes along with water-saving fixtures such as low-flow toilets were added too.

Copyright © 1999-2010 Northwest Railway Museum. All rights reserved.

The Northwest Railway Museum is located in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Please call us at (425) 888-3030, or email