Great Northern Locomotive 1246 was built in 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and operated by the Great Northern Railway until 1953. It is a class F-8 steam locomotive, which has a wheel arrangement of 2-8-0 and is known as a Consolidation. The 1246 pulled freight trains throughout its career ad served primarily in Western Washington. Locomotive 1246 was retired in 1953 and donated to the City of Seattle for display at the Woodland Park Zoo. In 1980 the locomotive was sold to a private collector, disassembled and moved to southern Oregon for storage. The private collector passed away in 2021 and his collection was acquired by the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad at Tillamook, Oregon. The Northwest Railway Museum and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad are both 501(c)3 tax exempt organizations agreed to exchange locomotives to better reflect the needs of their respective missions and collections policies.

Details about the acquisition are included in the blog post here: https://trainmuseum.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-consolidation-of-efforts-for-1246.html

This switching locomotive was built in 1899 by the Rogers Locomotive Works for the St. Paul & Duluth Railway as their #74. After the railway was taken over by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1900, the locomotive became #924 and was used in general switching of freight and passenger cars. Retired in 1925, the engine was sold to the Inland Empire Paper Co. of Millwood, Washington and was used to switch at their paper mill. In 1969 the Inland Empire Paper Co. donated the engine to the museum. Sole surviving class L-5 0-6-0.

This 3-truck Shay locomotive was build by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1904 for the Newhouse Mines and Smelter Co. for service in Utah. There it hauled copper ore from the Cactus Mine on the Newhouse, Copper Gulch & Sevier Lake Railroad. When the mine played out after ten years, the locomotive was sold, first to Cramer Kay Machinery Co. of Salt Lake City, then to the Eastern Railway & Lumber Co. in Centralia, Washington for the hauling of logs. In 1942 the name was changed to the S. A. Agnew Lumber Co. where it continued to haul logs until the railway was abandoned in 1951. Last operated 1951. In 1964 it was gifted to the museum by the S. A. Agnew Lumber Co. The Shay was stored at a sawmill until it was donated  and moved to the Northwest Railway Museum in 1969. Second oldest surviving 3-Truck Shay.

This geared-type locomotive was built by the Heisler Locomotive Co. as Ohio Match Co. #4, for Ohio Match’s logging operations near Hayden Lake, Idaho. Known as the Burnt Cabin Railroad, this 25-mile long logging railroad ran eastward from Garwood, past the north end of Hayden Lake, ending at the Burnt Cabin drainage. The engine was later sold to the National Pole and Treating Co. (NPT) for their lumber treating plant near Spokane and became the #2. NPT’s name was later changed to Minnesota & Ontario Paper Company (1940). Last operated in 1958. In 1967 the locomotive was purchased by the Northwest Railway Museum from Charles G. Morrow.

Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1928, this engine first served as engine #8 for the Mud Bay Logging Company, first near Olympia, Washington and later at Klamath Falls, Oregon, where it was the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. #6 (1941-1962). After its retirement, the engine was placed on display in Klamath Falls before coming to the Northwest Railway Museum. Gifted in 1965 by Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. Last operated 1974 at Northwest Railway Museum.

Steam locomotive #7 was built in November 1918 by the H.K. Porter Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as builder’s number 6361.  Initially owned by the US Navy, it operated in Norfolk, Virginia, and later in Bremerton, Washington.  In 1952 the #7 was purchased by the Olympic Portland Cement Company for use at the cement plant in Bellingham.  In June 1956 that operation was purchased by the Permanente Cement Company who in July 1960 donated the locomotive to the City of Bellingham.  Bellingham placed the locomotive on a plinth in the Bloedel Donovan Park at the north end of Lake Whatcom where it has remained on exhibit until 2017.  Changing priorities for Bellingham Parks resulting in the 7’s donation (technically, purchased for $1) to the Northwest Railway Museum. 

A King County and City of Snoqualmie Landmark, Chapel Car 5 is also on the National Register of Historic Places under the National Criteria. Built in 1898 for the American Baptist Publication Society, described as the brightest, biggest and lightest of the cars, the Messenger of Peace was destined for a long life of service to the church.  Constructed by Barney and Smith in their Dayton, Ohio works, the car was furnished with an oak interior and was austere when compared to other cars of the day, although this conservative appearance was not untypical for the Baptists. The Messenger of Peace was nicknamed “The Ladies Car” because it was funded with donations from 75 Baptist women who each contributed $100 towards The Barney and Smith Car Company’s $7,500 purchase price. The car had a colorful and varied service life carrying the church’s word to at least 11 states including West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, California, Oregon, and Washington. Car 5 was a feature exhibit at the Louisianna Purchase World Exposition in St Louis from April 30 - December 1, 1904. The Messenger of Peace was notable for its many years of service in Washington State.   In King County alone, the car visited dozens of communities. The Messenger of Peace continued to serve the church until 1948 and was the last of the American Baptist chapel cars to be retired.  It had a significant impact on the lives of people throughout the Northwest and visited towns and villages in nearly every county in Washington. For more information visit www.MessengerOfPeace.org.

Amtrak Cascades #7304 Bistro Car, Talgo Series VI, built by Talgo of Spain in 1998, with interiors completed in Seattle by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.  The car served in trains between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC from 1998 until 2000.  The Museum's Bistro Car was owned by Amtrak.

Bistro car 7304 on a transport truck at North Bend, WA on 20 February 2023.

Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway #218 Barney & Smith 1912 Coach. Purchased 1983 from Burlington Northern. Restoration to 1912 appearance in progress; substantially completed in 2014; serviceable.

Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway #272 Barney & Smith 1915 Baggage-Coach. Ex-SP&S coach #272. Purchased 1977 from Burlington Northern. Serviceable.

Union Pacific Railroad (Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation) #1590 Pullman 1913 Café/Observation Car.  Ex-UP (OWR&N) Observation #552. Gift 1977 of UP. Restoration to 1932 appearance in progress; serviceable.

United States Army #USA-89601 St. Louis Car Co. 1952 Ambulance Kitchen Car. Gift 1987 of Kennecott Minerals Co. Serviceable.

This former Great Northern wood-framed caboose was built in 1892, rebuilt in 1909, and retired in 1935.  It was acquired by retiring conductor Ed Shields of Great Falls until then 1970s. It then was owned by Mr. Jack Hoover of Belt, Montana (near Great Falls) from the early 1970s until his passing earlier in 2010, when his daughter Christina Hoover Blackwell donated this valuable historical artifact to the Northwest Railway Museum.

U.S. Car and Foundry built this double-sheathed wood boxcar in September 1923 as Northern Pacific NP 10896 under Authorization for Expenditure AFE 5018-23. Constructed of double sheathed wood sides, the car has pressed steel ends, wooden side doors, and a Murphy-type arch roof. After its revenue service duties were over, the car was placed into maintenance of way service in October 1960 under AFE 5228-60. It was renumbered NP 200328, which it remained even after the creation of Burlington Northern in March 1970. The Northwest Railway Museum purchased the car.

This 40-foot wood stock car was built by the Ryan Car Co in 1930 for the Northern Pacific Railway. This car has two decks which were used to transport smaller animals such as pigs and sheep. Located in most areas in earlier days were loading chutes where the animals could be loaded and moved to market. With the development of larger trucks the stockcar disappeared from the railroads.

Built as SCCX 1246 for Shell Oil Co. by General American Tank Car at Sharon, Pennsylvania, in November 1929, the car was assigned to service out of Martinez, California. Designed to transport heavy petroleum products such as bunker oil, the car is insulated and equipped with steam heating pipes to aid the transfer during cold weather. After 40 years of service from California to Washington, the car was repainted and refurbished by Shell before being donated to the Northwest Railway Museum in 1971. In 1972 the car was placed into service hauling waste oil for the steam locomotives from Seattle to Snoqualmie and was assigned reporting marks PSHX 1246.

Pacific Car and Foundry in Renton built this steel ice refrigerator car in 1953 as Western Fruit Express WHIX 70325. The Great Northern operated Western Fruit Express. The car remained in service after the creation of Burlington Northern and kept its original number. Alaska Lumber and Pulp Co. purchased this one for transporting food supplies by barge from Seattle to the sawmill in Sitka, Alaska. It became ALPC 2500. Alaska Lumber and Pulp donated the refrigerator car to the Northwest Railway Museum.

Built in 1908 by Industrial Works of Bay City, Michigan, the X-5 is a small wrecking crane designed to lift up to 75 tons. Wrecking cranes were used to clean up after train wrecks, hence the name. The crane would actually lift the locomotive up and place it back onto the track. It was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine and used two lifting cables. The steam was provided by an oil fired vertical boiler and the crane was capable of swinging 360 degrees (but would have to be stabilized in order to work within this arc). A train would need to move the X-5 to the site of a wreck, since the crane was not self-propelled. It was retired once larger cranes became available with the creation of Burlington Northern.

Bridge 35 Lassig Bridge and Iron Works, 1891-built through-pin-connected Pratt truss. Restored in 2003; purchased 1981 from the Burlington Northern Railroad. 

This 160-foot long through-pin-connected Pratt truss was constructed in 1891 by Chicago's Lassig Bridge and Iron Works.  However it was not built in North Bend - it was the seventh crossing of the Yellowstone River on the mainline of the Northern Pacific Railway in Montana.  1891's heaviest imaginable locomotive was just a few hundred thousand pounds.  Just over thirty years later, the largest mainline locomotives were nearly 1.2 million pounds.   So when a new, stronger bridge was erected over the Yellowstone in 1923 to support these new super-sized locomotives, the old bridge was dismantled, moved to North Bend, and re-erected over the southfork of the Snoqualmie River on a lighter density line called the Snoqualmie Branch.

The structure includes the steel span and 798 feet of ballast deck timber trestle approaches.  The timber trestle portion was built in 1929. 


Bridge 35 received a major rehabilitation in 2003/2004.  The Bridge 35 Rehabilitation received the 2005 Washington State Historic Preservation Officer's Valerie Sivinski Award for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Rehabilitation.  To view the award, click here.  To view the rehabilitation, click here.