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.

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…

Happy Holidays

Cascade Rail Foundation thanks you for your support this year. We hope you enjoy the holidays and have a great new year! Undated Gary Parson photo taken at South Cle Elum, WA

Paint it black!

The 5057 Project has been quiet this year. Our initial plan when we took the locomotive to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) shop in Usk, WA was to have them work on the locomotive between other jobs. Fortunately for the folks at POVA, they’ve been extremely busy! The 5057…

Shop on AmazonSmile and Amazon will donate to Cascade Rail Foundation

Do you shop on Amazon.com? If so, you can support our work to preserve the history of the Milwaukee Road in Washington when you shop. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same shopping experience as on Amazon.com, but with a benefit to Cascade Rail…

Depot open on Sunday, October 8

The exhibit area of the depot will be open Sunday, October 8 from noon to 4 p.m. Stop by and visit! This will probably be our last open hours for the season. We have some additional volunteers lined up for next year and hope to be open more than once…

Milwaukee Road in Whitman County Presentation and Tour – October 14

Explore the route of the historic Milwaukee Road railroad route across Whitman County in an historic photographic presentation at the Whitman County Library in Rosalia on Saturday, October 14 at 1 p.m. The presentation includes photographs from Cascade Rail Foundation’s collections, the Washington Rural Heritage collection, and other sources. This…

MILWAUKEE EMPLOYEES ANNUAL LUNCHEON – OCTOBER 7, 2017

Our seventh 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 7, 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,…

2017 Fall Milwaukee Road Meet – September 16 – Burien, WA

Cascade Rail Foundation and the Coast Division of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association are sponsoring a free event on Saturday, September 16. 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 railroad. All are…