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.

Tale a walk through the history of the South Cle Elum Rail Yard with us! State Parks interpretive staff and Cascade Rail Foundation volunteers will be offering informal guided walks through the South Cle Elum Rail Yard on Saturday, October 6 from noon to 4 p.m. We’ll also have the…

2018 Milwaukee Employees Annual Luncheon – October 6

Our eighth annual Milwaukee Employees Annual Luncheon (M.E.A.L.) will be held at the Iron Horse B&B in South Cle Elum on Saturday, October 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The luncheon will be catered by the Iron Horse B&B. The intent of this event is to honor former employees of the railroad, recognizing…

Rosalia Railroad History Presentation and History Hike – October 6

Railroad History Presentation Join us for a railroad history presentation by Bruce Butler at the Rosalia Community Center (located at 106 W. 7th Street, just off Whitman next to the grocery) on Saturday, October 6 at 1 p.m. Mr. Butler grew up in Pullman and has witnessed and photographed trains in…

July 22 Bicycle Tour from Snoqualmie Tunnel to Cedar Falls

Sunday, July 22 is your chance to take a bicycle tour on the former Milwaukee Road through Snoqualmie Tunnel and downhill to Cedar Falls near North Bend with fellow Milwaukee Road fans and railroad history enthusiasts. Bicycles (and headlights!) will be provided as part of the tour. This tour is…

Milwaukee Road book author event

Dale Jones, author of the recently published book “The Milwaukee Connection Spokane to Butte”, will be at Page 2 Books in Burien, WA on Saturday, July 21 at 1:30 PM to talk to fellow rail enthusiasts and sign copies of his books.

2018 Substation Tours

The giant Milwaukee Road substation next to the South Cle Elum depot is usually closed to the public, but we’ll be giving guided tours again this summer. Tours will be available Saturday, June 16 and Saturday, July 14 between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. We also will open the substation for…

Gandy Dancing in the Rail Yard

We’re very pleased to share another video by Charlie Conway! Charlie is a Contributing Editor for Model Railroader Video Plus (MRVP), Kalmbach Publishing Company’s subscription video website. In this video, you get to see some of our fantastic volunteer gandy dancers building a track panel. Gandy dancer is a slang term…

May 19 Rail Yard Work Party!!!

We will be having a small work party in the rail yard on May 19, working on vegetation maintenance. If you can join the party on Saturday, please send us a message through the ‘contact’ page of our website. We are also having a work party on Saturday, May 26.…

May 2018 Rail Yard Work Party Information

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…