Designs Finished For Railway Exhibit Hall

Museum Exhibit Design

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Construction on the Northwest Railway Museum’s exhibit hall is tentatively scheduled to start this spring. 

The 25,000-square-foot building project will offer space for the railway museum to preserve its train collection.

Initially, this project offers us a way to get critically endangered objects, such as the 1898-built railway chapel car inside and protected from the outdoor environment, said Richard Anderson, the museum’s executive director.

 

A glimpse of what the Railway History Museum could look like.

Anderson noted that about a third of the museum’s collection is constructed of wood, which is vulnerable to exposure to the elements.

Anderson said that the new building will also serve as a showcase for the museum’s collection, but this will take time.

(The) primary and ultimate purpose (of the building) is as an exhibit gallery. Initially, only short, guided tours to small groups will be offered. When a restroom is constructed and some additional objects are placed on exhibit, it will be open regular hours, Anderson said.

The new exhibit hall will display railroad artifacts, including various coaches and locomotives from the museum collection. The building will house four separate tracks with platform access to different trains for museum visitors to explore the history of trains and railroads.  

The design of the exhibit hall has been finished and the project will go to bid early in 2009. The start date of construction depends upon which contractor wins the contract in the competitive bidding process, Anderson said.

The building project will take about a year to construct. In addition to preserving the museum’s collection, the new building will feature sustainable building elements such as an automated cooling system that uses outside air and controlled natural lighting in the exhibit space. 

The overall cost of the project is estimated between $2.2 and $4 million dollars. The cost is dependent on a number of variables, Anderson said. 

The museum has secured $2.6 million in funding, with contributions coming from 4Culture, The Seattle Foundation, the McEachern Charitable Trust, Capital Projects for Washington’s Heritage, the Schwab Charitable Fund, and the TEA-21 enhancements program. The museum is seeking donations for the building project at its Web site at www.trainmuseum.org. 

Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.