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Did you know the scenic Old Pipeline Bed Trailhead near Leavenworth is the site of a historic Great Northern-built power station?
Water from the nearby Tumwater Dam ran generators to power electric locomotives through tunnels and snow sheds in Stevens Pass, including at Wellington!
#NRM #TrainMuseum
A picturesque view of a blue river with large boulders on either side. The foreground is framed in leaves outlined in gold and orange with green still in the middle. In the background, a red bridge still stands. The bridge held a wooden penstock which carried water from the Historic Tumwater Dam over to the power station.
September 24, 2026 at 11:07 PM
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Look who's getting all dressed up for Halloween Train, only a couple weekends away!

Our local garter snakes come in a surprising variety of stripe colors: green, yellow, orange, and sometimes even blue!
#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #snake #snakes #PNW #snoqualmie #halloween
Two garter snakes, either northwestern or common, coiled up together near the Conservation and Restoration Workshop. The larger of the two is the focus, black with orange stripes. The smaller one has the typical pale green stripes.
September 23, 2026 at 9:09 PM
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Need something to do this Friday evening? Come on out to our Snoqualmie Valley Wine Train! Enjoy local wineries, small bites, and local history.

#NRM #TrainMuseum #winetrain #wine #winetasting

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Wine Train Excursion - TrainMuseum Online Store
A unique way to experience the upper Snoqualmie Valley. Join the Northwest Railway Museum for Wine Train excursions featuring Snoqualmie Valley wineries, food, and scenic views! Visitors (21 and older...
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September 17, 2026 at 11:38 PM
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A cute little guy with no survival instinct to speak of. This young bunny is a resident on campus that has helped with managing weeds this summer!
#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #bunny #rabbit #PNW #Snoqualmie
Small wild bunny with a tiny white spot on its forehead. It sits in front of a red concrete curb and continues to eat grass, aware but unbothered by the photographer standing about 5 feet away.
September 16, 2026 at 10:53 PM
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Fall keeps trying to greet us, even if summer doesn't seem to want to let go just yet. It's getting darker earlier and bringing some welcome rain! The perfect time of year for a cozy train ride.
#NRM #TrainMuseum #trainrides #railroad #railway #museums #PNW #snoqualmie #northbend
The Northwest Railway Museum's four Spokane, Portland & Seattle coaches lined up along the boardwalk at the Railway History Campus. The sun is setting so the ambient light is dim. A warm yellow glow shines through the windows of the train cars.
September 13, 2026 at 5:59 PM
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#WildlifeWednesdays? More like WOOLY BEAR WEDNESDAYS! We've spotted the first of the season around here!

These are fuzzy and thankfully harmless to handle. They have no spines or irritating hairs - unlike other fuzzy caterpillar species in the country.
#NRM #TrainMuseum #bugs #moths #caterpillars
A black and orange fuzzy caterpillar crawls up a concrete surface.
September 9, 2026 at 10:02 PM
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#MediaEcologyStandingUp
#Year1872 #FWakeY1872 #FWakeYear1872
#GenerativeAI #FWakeGenerativeAI
#Lehi #LehiUtah #FWakeLehi #FWakeUtah
#Museum #TrainMuseum #FWakeMuseum

A museum that brags about A. I. videos.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5YD...
I Visited a Railroad Museum that was all AI Slop - and this is why it's so bad
YouTube video by Great Basin Car Shops
www.youtube.com
September 7, 2026 at 2:58 PM
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Second verse, just like the first. It's Labor Day Weekend again which means the trains are running today AND tomorrow (Monday!) Coach 218 received new seats since the previous photo was taken!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #trainrides #Snoqualmie #NorthBend #PNW
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The interior of Spokane, Portland & Seattle Coach 218 from a similar angle as the quoted photo. The formerly red, worn out seats are now a lovely shade of green.
September 6, 2026 at 5:16 PM
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This week, Kelsi Umeko released the trailer for her film "I Am American", which tells the story of a Japanese-American family during World War II. The Museum was honored to help bring this underrepresented part of history to life.
#IAmAmerican #WWII #NRM #TrainMuseum #history
The cast of I Am American standing on the platform between the Northwest Railway Museum's coach 272 on the left and 218 on the right. There are actors dressed as soldiers and many more actors in period-appropriate clothing. This was the set for the scene where the Japanese families were sent by train to the internment camps.
September 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
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Hey bud... You're a little small to operate our wheelchair lift. We appreciate the effort though!

#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #frogs #amphibians
Adaptive Engineering wheelchair lift with a small Pacific Chorus Frog hanging out in the corner between a lever and a metal bar. The same frog, now safely relocated away from moving parts and hanging out on a twig.
September 2, 2026 at 7:27 PM
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The Museum's track no longer connects to any main lines, so we can't ship equipment by rail. It all has to come via trucks. But how in the world do you get a train car onto a trailer?

BIG trucks with even BIGGER cranes!

#NRM #TrainMuseum #railroads #trains
Massive crane in the parking lot of the Railway History Campus, it is carrying a truck trailer to place it near the tracks. Rather than maneuvering the trailer through the gate, we moved it with the crane over the fence to expedite the process! The Silver Bullet suspended on one end by the crane. The trucks have been rolled out from underneath on this end so the car is just free-floating. Later in the process, the front half of the trailer is backed into place by the truck driver while the crane keeps the front half of the car in the air.
August 27, 2026 at 11:00 PM
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Well that is certainly one way to discourage the public from playing with an unlocked yard switch... Not the kindest option for our crew though, never mind how the bees must feel about it.
#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #bugs #insects #bees #wasps
One side of a ground-height track switch. Inside a small cavity in the metal, a paper wasp nest has been started. Three wasps sit atop the nest.
August 26, 2026 at 11:50 PM
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The Museum organizes the parade, but somehow hasn't been IN it for years. We changed that this year, the Museum's Pettibone brought up the rear of the parade!
It then gave festival goers another surprise with its return trip via rail. ;)

#NRM #TrainMuseum #maintenanceofway #railroads #equipment
Pettibone in the parade. The hook holds a rainbow streamer More streamers wave from the back of the Pettibone as it drives on Volunteers keep visitors safely away from the tracks as the Pettibone rolls back through At this speed, the streamers REALLY wave behind it!
August 22, 2026 at 8:59 PM
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The answer to yesterday's little quiz is: ATSF 2945, colloquially known as the Silver Bullet here at the Museum.
Featured because as of yesterday, the coach has a new home with our friends at Chehalis-Centralia Railroad!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #Amtrak #trains #railroads
Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Coach 2945 loaded onto the specialized trailer for transport. The trailer has two fully separate parts, the rear of which has an independent motor and remote control steering!! This photo was taken as the truck started to pull away from the tracks and into the parking lot. The Silver Bullet in the Railway History Campus parking lot, awaiting the next day for its journey to its new home.
August 21, 2026 at 5:57 PM
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Today's #ThrowbackThursday is also a little quiz! This photo is from the 1970s. The coach changed in appearance since this photo was taken, do you know which car this is and which line it operated on?
#NRM #TrainMuseum #Amtrak #railroads #trainrides #trains
Photo from 1970s of silver Amtrak passenger coach 4548 in service. A car attendant can be seen looking out the vestibule.
August 20, 2026 at 5:57 PM
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Locomotive 1246 may be stationary right now, but she's still been a hub of activity since her arrival at the Museum! The robins have found it to be a nice nesting platform. ;>

#NRM #TrainMuseum #WildlifeWednesdays #birds #robins
An American Robin sits in its nest, facing directly towards the camera, tail straight up in the air behind it. The nest is built near the cab of Great Northern Locomotive 1246, which is currently on static display at the Northwest Railway Museum outside the Train Shed Exhibit Hall.
August 19, 2026 at 6:24 PM
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In Seattle and planning to visit next weekend for Snoqualmie Days? Consider a double-feature historic experience and catch a historic bus from Seattle up to Snoqualmie courtesy of our friends at Metro Employee Historic Vehicle Association!
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#NRM #TrainMuseum #history
One of MEHVA's historic buses in the white, yellow, and orange striped look, parked in the Railway History Campus parking lot alongside the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad's main line.
August 15, 2026 at 8:15 PM
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How's this for a #ThrowbackThursday? One of the earliest photos of the Snoqualmie Depot! On the right, you can see another historic building that still stands to this day!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #Snoqualmie #trains #history #localhistory #NorthernPacific
Black and white photo of the Snoqualmie Depot. Handwritten text reads "N.P. R.R. Station Snoqualmie, Wash. 119 Siegrist North Bend, Wash." The building's original construction included spires along the rooftops. Behind the post in the foreground, the building that is/was the yellow-painted Woodman Lodge stands with the same plaque up top.
August 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM
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Chuggy shouldn't invite his friends over without checking with us first. We startled each other in the parking lot one morning!
#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #bears #PNW
A younger black bear in the Railway History Campus parking lot, down by the Conservation and Restoration Workshop. He is mid-step, paw lifted in the air, as he turns away from the person taking the photo. The same black bear, now walking down into the trees next to the CRW. He did not appreciate being perceived.
August 12, 2026 at 6:07 PM
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A rare sight here on the campus: A flock of turkey vultures decided to roost in the trees near the Conservation and Restoration Workshop after a late evening of train operation! Their spread wings help them regulate their body temperature.
#NRM #TrainMuseum #WildlifeWednesdays #birds #vultures
August 5, 2026 at 8:49 PM
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All things considered, it's a pretty cool work perk to get to step inside local history each morning to turn on the lights.
#NRM #TrainMuseum #Amtrak #Talgo #AmtrakCascades #PNW
The curved interior of the sole surviving Series VI bistro car, on display inside the Northwest Railway Museum's Train Shed Exhibit Hall. A large print of J. Craig Thorpe's Amtrak Cascades painting visible in the foreground
August 5, 2026 at 5:23 PM
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Have you had a chance to visit the new Amtrak Cascades Talgo Bistro Car Exhibit? While the interior is not open to the general public at this time, the iconic design work - including the lighted ceiling - is available for all to see!
#NRM #TrainMuseum #Amtrak #Talgo #DesigninMotion #CesarVergara
Amtrak Cascades Bistro Car 7304 on display in the Train Shed Exhibit Hall with the new interpretive panels. The other side of the Bistro car, the panels continue on, telling the history of Amtrak in the Pacific Northwest. The panels wrap around the walkway at the far end, ending with a fin car design on the last panel. ;)
July 31, 2026 at 6:51 PM
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It's a shame that birds can't read the staff-only sign on the door.

#WildlifeWednesdays #NRM #TrainMuseum #birds #pnw #junco
A dark-eyed junco is perched just inside the door to the Railway Education Center. The door is propped open below and staff have been trying to direct the bird out, but it kept trying to go out the upper windows instead of the wide open door.
July 29, 2026 at 11:28 PM
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"They printed 300,000 calendars each year. That's 15 boxcars full of calendars!"
Americans will use anything but the metric system, sure, but I think we get a pass on this one here at the Northwest Railway Museum. 😉
#NRM #TrainMuseum #DesigninMotion #JCraigThorpe
July 28, 2026 at 8:32 PM
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A Day Out With Thomas #WildlifeWednesdays! This alligator lizard popped out to check out all the festivities at the event a few years back. (And to catch some sun)
#NRM #TrainMuseum #lizards #PNW #reptiles
July 22, 2026 at 6:26 PM