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The Northern Pacific Railway Museum

The Northern Pacific Railway Museum is located in the NP’s former depot in Toppenish, Washington. Since the museum was started in the early 1990s it has achieved many goals including restoration on the NP depot at Toppenish and the acquisition of a good collection of rolling stock and equipment.

The Northern Pacific Railway was the first of the three major Northwestern railroads to begin construction. Unlike many other railroads the Northern Pacific did not change names numerous times throughout its existence and would likewise never acquire numerous other smaller roads to form its system. Perhaps what the railroad is best remembered for is its Ying Yang herald and its distinguished flagship passenger train, the North Coast Limited, which used a beautiful two-tone green livery.

Being that Hill held such an influence over the three railroads, including the jointly owned Seattle, Portland & Spokane, the Northern Pacific likely was destined to be merged with the other two roads at some point. The railroads tried for decades to merge but were blocked numerous times by the ICC, mostly citing monopoly issues as the reason. It took until 1970 when the ICC finally granted permission to do so (partly because the Milwaukee Road consented after years of trying to block the merger) forming the then Burlington Northern. Today, the former NP lines are part of the BNSF Railway system.

The depot itself was constructed in 1911 and operated as a fully staffed station until 1961 when Northern Pacific stopped calling trains at Toppenish. In 1981 then owner Burlington Northern Railroad ceased all operations at the building and it sat unused the rest of the decade. Fortunately a group of interested railfans sought to use the building as a railroad museum and the Yakima Valley Rail & Steam Museum Association was created to see this idea become a reality.

With the help of the city of Toppenish the YVR&S was able to lease the building in 1990 and after two years of hard work it opened to the public on the 4th of July, 1992. A year later the group was not only able to purchase the depot from BN but also the nearby freight depot for extra room in housing their growing equipment.

In 2000 the organization was renamed the Northern Pacific Railway Museum. Along with the equipment owned by the museum they also have a number of other things to do and see, including an operating layout every weekend. Please visit the museum's website for all of the activities and events planned throughout the year.

For more reading on the Northern Pacific you might want to consider the book Northern Pacific Railway Photo Archive by John Kelly. The author gives a superb pictorial history of the railroad from the 1930s through the 1960s and features both freight and passenger operations If you have any kind of an interest in the Northern Pacific you are sure to enjoy Sullivan's book.

Also, for more information and reading about excursion trains and railroad museums you might want to consider picking up Tourist Trains Guidebook from the editors of Kalmbach Publishing's Trains magazine. The book lists and reviews over 400 excursions and museums found throughout the country and is an excellent resource, which has received superb reviews by readers, if you're looking for one to visit. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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