Snoqualmie Railroad Days exhibits show evolution of the rails
August 17, 2010 · 1:43 PM
The age of rail is far from over. Visitors can find interactive fun at Snoqualmie Railroad Days, learning about how railways have evolved.
Hosts at the Northwest Railway Museum will give demonstrations of upgrades made since the days when train tracks were built by hand, 12:30, 2 and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Depot.
“They’ll see machines that were the first phase of mechanization of the railroad,” said Museum Executive Director Richard Anderson.
Demonstrations include an automatic spiking machine, which places spikes on the tracks; a ballast regulator, which spreads rock on the track; and a tie spacing machine. Ties tend to creep when the track is in use, so this machines periodically restores the spacing between them
“Some of the machines are almost too sophisticated, but they did the work of many men in a short period of time,” Anderson said.
Other demonstrations and displays that will be featured at Railroad Days include artist demonstrations on stitchery, spinning and weaving, pottery and wood carving; displays of quilts, wood saw and tool displays; craft booths on photography, children’s art and textiles; large displays for paintings, and more.
Comment on this story.
So keep your comments:
- Civil
- Smart
- On-topic
- Free of profanity
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters. We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please refer to our Terms of Use for full detail on participating on our site.
