7 & 28 May 08 - Rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow. Those conditions made riding on log cars not only unpleasant but dangerous. These conditions were likely a factor in Washington State enacting a rule that required a caboose on log trains of more than 10 cars. That law (probably) resulted in caboose OO1, a short caboose at just 24 feet but nonetheless an improvement allowing a safer work environment and a safer train.

The caboose was built at Enumclaw in 1945 and that original construction required approval of the wartime ration board. Trucks from a log car and other recycled parts were used to construct the caboose because steel and other raw materials were in short supply. Stock lumber from around the mill was used to frame and clad the carbody.

Caboose 001 was constructed by carpenters at the White River Lumber Company and represents the innovation, adaptability and elegant simplicity that characterized logging by rail in the Northwest. It is framed like a building and lacks most of the joinery common on mainline rail cars. It has no insulation, no kitchen, no toilet, no running water, and no beds. But it does have a table and bench seating, oil heat, and early on was equipped with an Onan light plant to provide electricity for interior and exterior lighting.

The caboose is at the end of an extensive multi- year reconstruction project and is presented as it appeared in 1949. This work is being made possible by the Museum's new Conservation and Restoration Center, a specialized collection care facility completed in 2006. Collection care has taken 4,400 skilled man hours and an expense of over $35,000 for materials.

The caboose was repainted several times during its service life and were matched to samples found on surfaces protected from light and rain.

9 Nov 07 - A complex real estate transaction involving a land swap with Meadowbrook Farm has been completed providing four additional acres for museum develop-ment. The Farm, owned jointly by the City of Snoqualmieand the City of North Bend, is public

open space. In exchange, the Museum has gifted a parcel of commercial land to the Farm that is located near the Mt Si Quarry. The process involved detailed appraisals, and the approval of six agencies: City of Snoqualmie, City of North Bend, Meadowbrook Farm Preservation Association, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, and the Northwest Railway Museum. Click here to read the joint Snoqualmie - Northwest Railway Museum news release describing the transaction.

The Museum is grateful for the support of Snoqualmie, North Bend, their respective mayors Larson and Hearing, their respective city councils, and key staff members including Snoqualmie director of communityplanning Nancy Tucker and city attorney Pat Anderson.

The next steps involve design and permitting for the next structure: the train shed. The train shed will be used to exhibit and store transportation artifacts including locomotives, coaches and freight cars and will incorporate 25,000 square feet.

The Northwest Railway Museum is rehabilitating a coal mine car that was used in a King County coal mine. This representative piece is from the Renton

History Museum's collection and will be rehabilitated at the new Conservation and Restoration Center in Snoqualmie. Work will include document-ation, fabrication and assembly of a new wood carbody, cleaning of steel and iron components, and limited painting. When completed in spring 2008, it will be returned to Renton where it will be placed on exhibit inside the Renton History Museum.

The project is being funded by 4Culture and represents a new type of partnership between two history museums. For Renton, it represents one of their largest artifacts and one that requires a different type of care than most of their collection. For the Northwest Railway Museum the project represents typical collection care work that will be performed to the Secretary of the Interior standards for the treatment of historic properties. Click here for more information about this project from the Renton History Museum website.