Centennial Station Volunteers

6600 Yelm Highway SE
Lacey

Time: 08:30 AM-01:00 PM

Come enjoy the music, door prizes, snacks, entertainment and oh, yes…AMTRAK trains! All Aboard Washington, AMTRAK, Operation Lifesaver and many local tourist rail and vacation rail companies will have information tables. The Centennial Station volunteers look forward to having you as our guest. Stop by to see all we have to offer to travelers of all ages!

Northwest Railway Museum

38625 SE King St
Snoqualmie 98065

Time: 11:00 AM-4:00 PM

Event Description: Celebrate National Train Day aboard the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. Enjoy a scenic ride through the Cascade foothills. And, Moms Ride Free with a paying child of any age, in celebration of Mother’s Day. Founded in 1957, the Northwest Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in Washington State and welcomes over 90,000 visitors each year. The museum operates an interpretive railway program offering antique train excursions through the Upper Snoqualmie Valley. Additional public programs, like Santa Train®, School Train, Day Out With Thomas™, and Snoqualmie Railroad Days are part of the museum’s yearly calendar. The museum’s collection of railway artifacts and equipment is one of the most significant in the United States and includes over 70 examples of locomotives, passenger and freight cars, and specialized railway equipment. The Northwest Railway Museum is centered in the Snoqualmie Depot, recognized as the oldest continuously operated train station in Washington State. The Train Shed Exhibit Building at the Railway History Center campus on Stone Quarry Road will be available for scheduled tours, beginning in April 2012. For more information on train schedules, special events and operating hours visit the museum on the web at www.trainmuseum.org or call (425) 888-3030.

Website: visit

Everett Station

3201 Smith Avenue
Everett

Time: 8:00 AM-1:00 PM

Sounder commuter rail equipment and possibly new Everett Transit buses will be on display. All Aboard Washington will be hosting a table with information about our organization, NARP, our Talgo trains, Operation Lifesaver and more.

Edmonds Station

210 Railroad Avenue
Edmonds

Time: 10:00 AM-2:00 PM

The Swamp Creek & Western Model Railroad Club will have its open session for the public. Their model railroad is spetacular. All Aboard Washington will be hosting a table with information about our organization, NARP, our Talgo trains, Operation Lifesaver and more.

By Zoë Garrett

Sometimes,
When I lie awake in the dark,
I can hear the trains:
Forlorn whistles echoing,
Sounding through the hills,
And I imagine that I can hear
The clack of wheels on tracks
Weaving in between the sound
Of the lonely whistle.

Sometimes,
When I lie awake in the dark,
The sound of airplanes
Drowns out the trains,
And I think:
Go away airplanes!
I want to hear the trains,
With their echoing whistle
And far-off rumble of wheels on tracks.

Sometimes,
When I lie awake in the dark,
The lonely trains are my lullaby
Because my first train memory
Is of surfacing from sleep
To the sway-and-clack rhythm,
And I felt I belonged right there,
For nowhere else was right for me
At that thirteen-year-old moment.

Sometimes,
When I lie awake in the dark,
My steampunk lullaby is replaced
With airplane’s commercial drone
Sounding of polished white floors
And that airport-smell, so distinctive.
I think Go away because
If I fall asleep to the trains,
Maybe…maybe I will wake up
In That Place.
The one where I

Belong.

(Zoë is an 8th grader at Washington Middle School in Seattle. She has been writing poetry for several years and we are pleased to be publish Steampunk Lullaby.)

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2012/04/4_wa_or_integratedcorridor.htm

The 2012 Legislative session could be an interesting one as our legislators and the governor have begun discussions about placing a transportation revenue package on the November 2012 ballot. All Aboard Washington will be working hard to ensure that any transportation package forwarded to the voters will be balanced and contain funding for the improvement and expansion of intercity passenger rail service throughout our state. We will also continue to push our policy of Flex and Fix on the mudslide issue so that our citizens can count on consistent and reliable Amtrak and Sounder service, and to continue working for service improvements on the Amtrak Cascades.

Thanks for your support.

The new members are Karen Keller of Lacey and Louis Musso of Cle Elum.

Reelected to the Board were Jim Hamre of Puyallup, Stephanie Weber of Kirkland and Zack Willhoite of Puyallup.

Congratulations to our two new board members.