The Northwest Railway Museum announced some exciting news this week, securing City of Snoqualmie Landmark status for one of its historic railway cars: Puget Sound Electric Railway interurban car 523.
According to a news release, the City of Snoqualmie Landmarks Commission met on Thursday, January 25, 2018 to consider the nomination of car 523 to the Register. After a public hearing, the Landmarks Commission voted to approve the listing of car 523.
The Northwest Railway Museum stated, “It is a fitting tribute to a rare and representative object that retains a high degree of original integrity, and the listing will support the car’s preservation.”
The Puget Sound Electric Railway (PSER) operated electric trains between Seattle and Tacoma from 1902 through 1928, with much of the line energized with power from Snoqualmie Falls.
Car 523 is the last known surviving Seattle-Tacoma wooden electric interurban car, originally serving as a combination coach/parlor/observation car. It was built by St. Louis Car in 1907 and put into service in 1908. More than a dozen South King County communities were once served by the PSER and car 523.
The Northwest Railway Museum received the donation of car 523, on September 27, 2017.
You can read more about the Car 523 and its new landmark status at: trainmuseum.blogspot.com
Founded in 1957, Snoqualmie’s Northwest Railway MuseumIt is currently the largest and most comprehensive railroad museum in Washington State with than 120,000 people visiting each year.
