The rail line that you came across in Snoqualmie, Washington is the former Northern Pacific Railway Snoqualmie Branch line (12th Sub). The line was originally built and completed in the 1890's by the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) and was later acquired by the Northern Pacific in the late 1890's. The Snoqualmie Branch ended just east of North Bend in a area called Tanner / Sallal Prairie. The line is currently only in place from Snoqualmie Falls to North Bend and originally the line would have been connected from Snoqualmie Falls to Woodinville via Fall City, Preston, Issaquah, Redmond and from there on around the north end of Lake Washington on into Seattle on what is now the Burke Gilman trail, which is named for the founders of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, Thomas Burke and Daniel Gilman.

The Snoqualmie Branch did see the use of passenger trains up until about the 1920's if I can correctly recall. Most passenger traffic was related to tourists/visitors to the falls. The depot in Snoqualmie is the original depot, which was built in 1890. About the only other major reason the Snoqualmie Depot would have been built the size it was, is that the Snoqualmie Valley was a large hop farming area in the late 19th century. But there is also another smaller depot at Snoqualmie Falls which is on Puget Sound Energy property at the Snoqualmie Falls power generation facility and can only be viewed from the train.

The rail line / right of way, depot and equipment stored in Snoqualmie are owned by the Northwest Railway Museum ( www.trainmuseum.org ) and the crossing you located with the newer signal equipment, without any other details (Snoqualmie Parkway?, North Bend Way?) I'd presume your referring to part of the line which the museum owns and operates excursion trains on April though October from Snoqualmie Falls to North Bend.



As to the Milwaukee Road, they operated though the Snoqualmie Valley on the north side of the Snoqualmie River, which was closer to the Snoqualmie Lumber Company mill (later Weyerhaeuser). The Milwaukee Road's line though the valley broke off from their mainline at Cedar Falls and operated northwest from there though Tanner, North Bend, Snoqualmie, Carnation, Duvall, Monroe, etc.

The NP did also have access to the mill, via a bridge across the Snoqualmie River about a mile west of the Snoqualmie Depot on what was called the Mill Spur. The bridge was removed in 2005 due to flooding concerns, but if you drive though town on State Route 202, you'll notice a Milwaukee Road boxcar sitting on a subtrack, this is where the NP's spur to the mill was.

The Milwaukee Road line though the valley was operated up until about the mid 1980's by the Burlington Northern after being acquired by them. The Northwest Railway Museum became land locked once the BN discontinued service in the Snoqualmie Valley via the former Milwaukee Road line. Currently the Milwaukee Road right of way is now part of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

If you have anyother questions, post them.

Daniel Calhoun