Snoqualmie’s Railroad Days: A historic celebration

Published 6:49 pm Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Snoqualmie’s Railroad Days was a weekend of change.

Old met new at the Snoqualmie Depot’s 125th anniversary celebration, as the historic steam engine and modern locomotive touched noses.

Local artists swept the competition in the Plein Air Paint Out, which North Bend painter and art teacher Ann Heideman won with her first-ever painting of a train.

The biggest changes, though, came in the weather. Members of the Bedrock Prospectors Club, camping on site with their display of mining machines and gold collections, got a good soaking on Friday evening, club president Richard Holcomb said.

Saturday, though, dawned with only a few clouds, and a few sprinkles, both of which helped keep things cool for the morning runners and the afternoon’s timbersports athletes, who included about a dozen volunteers picked from the crowd to throw an axe. Snoqualmie firefighters also helped with the show, good naturedly competing in the double-buck event against members of the David Moses team in the first show when their rivals, police and public works, failed to appear, and then doing it again a few hours later when the other teams arrived for the second show.

Sunshine and clear skies Sunday meant a green light for the Legends Car Club show, which counted an impressive 163 cars entered.

It probably also contributed to the interest in the car show’s water balloon toss event, packed with daring saves, spectacular splashes and a nail-biter of a final between the team of teens and the team of adults. Again and again, they tossed; again and again, they tied in the final round, until at last, one catcher slipped, and it was all over for the adults.

Here is just a glimpse of all that happened at Snoqualmie’s Railroad Days celebration.

Snoqualmie firefighters Mike Wallace, left, and Darby Summers race in the double-buck event in the first timbersports show Saturday. The firefighters returned for the second show, for the annual contest between fire, police and the public works department.

Emily and Gus Fitzgerald watch, fascinated, at the model train display at the American Legion Hall Sunday. The family, including Myles, is from Dublin, visiting family in Redmond.

Micah Abraham, center, and Alexander Dalbey, right, groove to the sounds of Eric Ode Saturday at the Railroad Days kids stage.

Owners and admirers talk about a 1991 Ferrari Testarossa, owned by David Mason, on display in Sunday’s car show.

Racers take off at the whistle in the Railroad Days fun run Saturday morning.

The E Clampus Vitus drill team performs for judges in Saturday’s parade.

A volunteer named Ben scores in Saturday’s axe throw event at the timbersports show. He had the highest score of the six people chosen from the crowd to try the test of skill.

Jen Manelski grimaces when her water balloon explodes during Sunday’s games.

Balloons bursting all around her didn’t district this contestant in Sunday’s water balloon toss. She and her teammate made it to the final round, and two ties for first place, before the other team won the title.

Two brothers, John, left, and Tom Kamml, separately bought nearly identical 1991 white Corvettes and showed them off together during Sunday’s car show.

Zeke Thompson, age 3, of Snoqualmie, points out yet another cool car find to his sister, Yarin, and father, Zeke, during the Legends Car Show Sunday. He knows cars, his dad says, and recognized most of the ones in the show.

Timbersports athlete David Moses cuts through a lot with a loud, but crowd-pleasing chainsaw Saturday.

Ally Becker of Snoqualmie simplifies her day by adding a basket to her daughter, Daphne’s stroller, so their dog, Baby, could join them for the day.

Local artists all around took top honors in the Plein Air Paint Out on Saturday. From left: Ann Heideman, North Bend, took first place in the event with her painting of a train; Kim Star, Snoqualmie, was second with her train cars (on easel); Laurie Clark, North Bend, was third and Jonathan Lanis received honorable mention for his abstract piece.

Ricky Noel Mitchell shapes a tupelo block into an owl sculpture at the Arts on Display showcase Saturday during Railroad Days.