Northwest Railway Museum

The Northwest Railway Museum originates in 1957 when the Puget Sound Railway Historical Association is organized to preserve regional rail heritage. In September 1999 the organization adopts its present name, Northwest Railway Museum, reflecting a broader mission and expanded facilities. The museum’s historic core includes the Snoqualmie depot, constructed in 1890 by the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, which itself laid the 5.5‑mile line used by the museum’s heritage railroad in 1889. That original line, built as part of Seattle’s response to the Northern Pacific’s selection of Tacoma as its western terminus, is acquired by the Northern Pacific in 1901. A major turning point arrives in 2006 with the dedication of the Conservation and Restoration Workshop, the first phase of the Railway History Campus, providing dedicated back‑shop space for restoring the collection.