Cascade Rail Foundation

Before and After Renovation!

After many volunteer hours of renovation, the South Cle Elum Depot re-opened its doors in 2006.

Back in its heyday in the 1920s

The South Cle Elum Depot as seen from the south, with the substation and rail yard.

We are working to ensure the fascinating history of the Milwaukee Road in Washington is not forgotten

Contact Cascade Rail Foundation

You can visit our Archive web site to see Milwaukee Road-related documents and photos in our collections. To go to our site, click here or on the image below. UPDATE: Our Archive web site is back (with a new address) after being derailed by a software update gone wrong. It is still rough around the edges, but most of the documents are there. Contact us if you need a document from the site that is still missing.

We will be having a work party on Saturday, May 26 at the South Cle Elum Rail Yard, from 10 am to 3 pm. The main focus will be laying track, though we may continue our work to maintain the vegetation in the rail yard also. If you can join…

A new name for the trail? Give your feedback today!

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is considering a name change for the Iron Horse State Park Trail /John Wayne Pioneer Trail. Currently, Washington State Parks identifies the whole trail that encompasses the former Milwaukee Road mainline between Cedar Falls (near North Bend) and the Idaho border as the…

Visit the depot this summer – 2018 hours

We will have the exhibit area of the depot open from noon to 4:00 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month from May through October, plus some additional days. You can come see us on: Saturday, May 12 Saturday, May 19 Saturday, June 9 Saturday, June 16 Saturday, July…

POSTPONED – April work party to be rescheduled

The work party we had scheduled for tomorrow is postponed. We’ll be rescheduling it soon, probably either Saturday, May 5 or May 26. We plan to continue building track panels and maintaining the vegetation in the rail yard. Please RSVP if you would like to join us.

Spring 2018 Rail Yard Work Parties

We have ambitious plans for the South Cle Elum Rail Yard in 2018. In addition to continuing our work to beat back the trees and sagebrush, we plan to build some track, improve the signage along the street, refurbish the exterior of our caboose, and construct a much needed dumpster…

5057 Fundraising Challenge: 1 = 3!

4/1 UPDATE: We did it! With a surge of donations at the end, we blew past our goal and raised $2,323.99 this month. With the matching donations, that means we are $4,323.99 closer to having the funds to repaint the 5057. We now have about half the total we’ll need. Thank you…

2018 March Milwaukee Meet, March 3, Burien, WA

The annual March Milwaukee Road Meet is a gathering for slides, movies and discussion and socializing. All are welcome! As in the past, this is a free event. Bring your photos, artifacts, models, memorabilia and other items for display. The event is sponsored by Cascade Rail Foundation and the Coast Division of the Milwaukee Road…

Renslow Trestle Project Moves Forward

Reported by Mark Borleske. Funding for the Renslow Trestle Project was included in the recently approved capital budget by the state legislature. With this funding, Washington State Parks will install decking and protective side railings on the steel trestle, which extends across a valley and over Interstate 90. It will…

CRF Featured in Model Railroader Magazine Video Series

The work of the Cascade Rail Foundation is featured in two new short videos released by Model Railroader Video Plus (MRVP), Kalmbach Publishing Company’s subscription video website. MRVP Contributing Editor, Charlie Conway, joined Cascade Rail Foundation Board member Karl Hufnagel and his son Nicholas for a two-day road trip along the Milwaukee Road…

2018 Rail Yard Improvement Plans

We have several irons in the fire to improve the South Cle Elum Rail Yard in 2018. In addition to continuing our work to beat back the trees and sagebrush, we plan to build some track, improve the signage along the street, refurbish the exterior of our caboose, and construct a much needed…