Quite a bit off topic, but my family provided a train-based Fathers’ Day for me that was wonderful and I thought I’d recommend both experiences for those with interest in old trains.
1. A ride on the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, open weekends in the summer. This was a short ride on old unused tracks through Snoqualmie and ending in a beautiful view over the Snoqualmie Dam. All of the cars have been restored, several dating back a good hundred years.
2. Dinner at the Orient Express, a Chinese restaurant in Seattle made from 8 rail cars. Don’t let the run-down exterior fool you – it’s beautiful on the inside. This place has been open since 1949, and because we had a group of seven people they sat us in a private room where Roosevelt once slept. The furniture was original, and all of the fixtures were in great condition – even a speedometer (-100 to 100 mph) and steam pressure gage. My niece ran around trying every button and switch. I’m a little sad I missed eating here when it was Andy’s – a diner that was family run since 1949. But then I like Chinese better than diner food, and though slightly heavy on grease for my taste (though not heavy compared to typical Chinese food), the flavors were wonderful and I’d recommend it based on the food alone.
A real eye-opener for me was a cab ride on the Snoqualmie steam loco. Ask at the ticket office, if they still do that it will cost a little extra.
And I wonder if you can still get back in their acres of to-be-restored cars and locomotives. This is a totally awesome place, lots of old equipment, and work in progress. Maybe not the best place for children to be off-leash, though.
I’d never heard of Orient Express… and 2963 4th Ave S is just a couple blocks from Link SoDo Station! Looks like I’ll need to make a post July 18 appointment.
Just FYI, Snoqualmie has no steam locomotives. The only steam railroads in Washington State are Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Mineral, Washington and the Chehalis and Centralia Railroad in Chehalis, Washington.
Snoqualmie does run old Alco type locomotives though.
How long ago did the Lake Whatcom Railway retire it’s steamer? According to their website:
Political as in couldn’t recertify the boiler or political in there’s in fighting with the group running the place that can’t agree on maintenance, funding, etc?
FYI Bernie read this http://www.steamlocomotive.info/shownotes.cfm?Loco=1303
Wow, we must have ridden one of the last Santa Trains pulled by the steamer! My son was born in ’91 and the last Xmas it ran would have been ’97. I’ll have to dig through old photos and see if I can date any of them.
A couple of questions regarding comments in the link. What sort of FRA exemptions did the train require? It makes it sound like they became hard ass about it during the Clinton Administration but are there serious issues that need to be addressed? And if it was retired in excellent condition why is “restoration” such a big deal?