Era-appropriate trucks have been located and purchased for the 523. Now they need to be restored to their former glory! When you support Give Big now through May 8, you will be helping put the 523 back on wheels this year, and for the first time since 1928.
Give Big is the annual charitable giving program in our local region, and May 8 is this year’s day of giving. The Northwest Railway Museum is developing the Puget Sound Electric Railway (“PSER”) car 523 project, and this year is undertaking the restoration of the trucks (wheels) purchased for the project. Work is expected to cost $15,000, and will be matched with 33 cents from every dollar with a grant from the Washington State Historical Society.
PSER 523 is a wooden electric interurban car built in 1907 for service between Seattle and Tacoma. The 523 has survived for more than a century and today is a King County and City of Snoqualmie Landmark. It is owned by the Northwest Railway Museum and will be restored to operate on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, powered with modern batteries.
PSER 523 has some very significant local connections. The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric plant was completed in 1898 and its first customers were Seattle street railways. When the PSER began operation in 1902, it was also powered with electricity from Snoqualmie Falls. The 523 entered service in February 1908 and operated between Seattle and Tacoma until 1928. Later, it was adaptively-reused as a rail office in Tacoma, and then as a home in Federal Way. In this “second life” the car’s trucks and wheels were removed.
The 523 was donated and moved to the Museum in 2017. Since then, the Museum has purchased a set of era-appropriate trucks – check out the accompanying photos of the components in a California field! The Museum has already started the process of restoration to allow their use; work is being performed by street car expert Paul Class in his shop north of San Francisco.
The Baldwin-built (the same company that built locomotives) trucks are about 10 years newer than the 523, but they are the best fit. And thanks to Bill Wulfert and friends at the Illinois Railway Museum, a detailed set of drawings is guiding the work. It is amazing to be able to match a century-old interurban car with century-old trucks!
Please schedule a Give Big donation today! The Museum is a public charity; contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Your support in any amount will help keep this project “rolling!”
