The Northwest Railway Museum has an extensive collection of large and small objects, ephemera, tools of the trade, photographs, paper materials, and books. Join us for a tour through our collection.
- Railway Lanterns
- Lanterns were a fundamental part of any railwayman's day - a piece of safety eqipment akin to radios and high visability gear today. Why were they so important? Communication and safety! Historically train crew communicated by way of hand signals. Tr... View Exhibit Page
- Railway Ephemera
- Merriam-Webster defines ephemera (plural) as "paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles." The Northwest Railway Museum has an extensive collection of... View Exhibit Page
- Tools of the Trade
- Railroads had many items that were used frequently and can be seen as tools of the railway trade. From the items trainmen carried to work, to the locks and keys used to secure switches, there are many interesting items that fall within this category... View Exhibit Page
- Fairbanks Morse Collection
- Founded in 1830 when Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the first platform balance scale and opened a business with his brother, Erastus, the Fairbanks Morse Company influenced the Railway Industry with its designs for generations. In 1850, Charles Morse jo... View Exhibit Page
- Chapel Car "Messenger of Peace": Religion arrives on the frontier . . . by train
- As the railroad expanded westward in the late 19th Century morals, moderation and stability of frontier communities were often left to whims of citizens, or they were at best an afterthought of their founders. Frontier and mining towns of the south a... View Exhibit Page
- Timetables and Guidebooks
- Timetables are a document setting out information on service times, to assist passengers with planning a trip. Typically, listing the times when a service is scheduled to arrive at and depart from specified locations, timetables may show all movement... View Exhibit Page