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.

On our eastbound trek, we depart Cle Elum and quickly enter the countryside of rural Kittitas County. Soon we will again meet up with the Yakima River where we will travel the south side of the river. The competing Burlington Northern/Northern Pacific Stampede Pass route is across the river to…

Palouse to Cascades Trail Virtual Tour – Day 3

Today’s virtual tour of the Milwaukee Road with Cascade Rail Foundation Vice President Mark Borleske goes from Easton, along the Yakima River to the South Cle Elum Rail Yard Historic District. This is the home of Cascade Rail Foundation. Welcome aboard as we continue our eastbound travels. The Milwaukee Road…

Palouse to Cascades Trail Virtual Tour – Day 2

Today our virtual journey takes us through the Snoqualmie Tunnel, past Hyak, and along Lake Keechelus to Easton. This is the east slope of the Cascade Mountains. Here is the east portal of the Snoqualmie Tunnel at Hyak, as seen in April 1969. The 11,890 foot long tunnel was completed…

Palouse to Cascades Trail Virtual Tour – Day 1

Today we begin our journey heading east, climbing 1,579 feet in elevation over a distance of just 19.2 miles. Snoqualmie Pass was a challenging section for the Milwaukee Road. The Snoqualmie Tunnel, opened in 1915, eliminated 500 feet of elevation and shortened the route by 3.8 miles. Even with the…

Palouse to Cascades Trail Virtual Historical Tour

Each year, a group of horse riders known as the John Wayne Pioneer Wagons & Riders do a cross state ride, on the Milwaukee Road right of way across Washington State, now the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. They start in Easton on May 21 and end in Tekoa…

CANCELLED: 2020 March Milwaukee Meet, March 7, Burien, WA

UPDATE – 3/5/2020 Over the past few days, we have been looking for a way we could hold the annual March Milwaukee Meet in the context of the current COVID-19 virus outbreak here in the Seattle area. As evidence mounts that the virus is quietly spreading throughout the community, we…

2019 Fall Milwaukee Meet – October 26 – Centralia, WA

Cascade Rail Foundation and the Coast Division of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association are sponsoring a free event on Saturday, October 26. We will have several presentations about the history of the Milwaukee Road. This is a great opportunity to socialize with others interested in the history of the…

Rosalia Railroad History Presentation and History Hike – October 12

Railroad History Presentation Join us for a railroad history presentation about the Spokane & Inland Empire Railway by Tom Hillebrandt at the Rosalia Community Center (located at 106 W. 7th Street, just off Whitman next to the grocery) on Saturday, October 12 at 1 p.m. Mr. Hillebrandt is author of…

CANCELED: 2019 Milwaukee Employees Annual Luncheon – October 12

UPDATE: Unfortunately, we need to cancel the luncheon this year. We’ll be back next year! ========== Our ninth annual Milwaukee Employees Annual Luncheon (M.E.A.L.) will be held at the South Cle Elum depot in South Cle Elum on Saturday, October 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The luncheon…

Visit the depot this summer – 2019 hours

Our open hours are expanded this year! We will have the exhibit area of the depot open from 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every Saturday from May through the end of September. We’d like expand our hours further, but we need more volunteers. If you are interested in helping us…