Working at the Archive – September 19

This week Fred High and I spent most of the evening continuing to repack unprocessed material from odd size boxes into standard size storage boxes.  Our focus this time was on the last few unprocessed boxes of the extensive Doug Nighswonger collection.  Much of the Nighswonger Collection is Traffic Department…

Continue reading

What’s next for the 5057?

With our purchase of the 5057 completed earlier this year, our next step is to move it back to Washington and get to work on the cosmetic restoration of the locomotive.     We plan to send the 5057 to the locomotive shop of the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA)…

Continue reading

Working at the Archive – September 5

The Thursday work crew had a team of four at the archive this time.  Rick Beaber, Fred High, and Aaron Schwarz joined us and we spent most of the evening repacking unprocessed material from odd size boxes into standard size  storage boxes.  We were doing this so they can go…

Continue reading

Working at the Archive – August 15

Our Thursday crew was short-staffed this week because of work and family commitments, but Gary Pember and I managed to complete a task we’ve been working on for the past couple months.  We’ve been organizing several hundred Milwaukee Road timebooks in Cascade Rail Foundation’s Edward Berntsen Collection that document construction…

Continue reading

Signal Project Moves Forward

Several years ago, we installed two Milwaukee Road signals along the trail.   The signals face each other, one west of the depot and the other east of it.  Our plan is to have them lighted and controlled from the depot.     At the July 13 work party, we made…

Continue reading

Gordon H. Russ, locomotive engineer

Gordon H. Russ, retired locomotive engineer of the Milwaukee Road’s Coast Division, died on August 20, 2013 at the age of 94. A memorial service is planned for September 7, 2013 in Tacoma at Narrows Glenn Retirement Home (details below).  In lieu of flowers the family is  requesting gifts be…

Continue reading

Rail Yard Work Party – July 13

      We’re having our annual rail yard work party on Saturday, July 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Come join us as we work on vegetation management and also clean up the area around the substation.  Bring work gloves and your own water bottle (we can provide…

Continue reading

Summer Depot Hours

While Smokey’s Bar-B-Que is open seven days a week, the exhibits in the remainder of the depot are not.  This summer, you can see the exhibits on weekends.  We’re open Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  These hours are subject…

Continue reading