Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Reardan area museum open Thursday to Sunday
REARDAN – The Inland NW Rail Museum re-opened June 12 when Lincoln County entered Phase 3 of the state re-opening plan, and its volunteer-only staff is ready to welcome tourists and train lovers alike.
Face coverings and physical distancing are required for visitors of the museum, which hasn’t been an issue thus far, according to museum head volunteer Dale Swant.
“We’ve only had one person who wouldn’t wear a mask,” Swant said.
Located just west of downtown Reardan right off Highway 2, the museum features trains, street cars, model trains and pieces of Pacific Northwest railway history. It’s operated by the 54-year-old Inland Empire Railway Historical Society and has been in its current location for four years after moving from its previous location in Spokane.
“One of the prerequisites was that we be located on a main (railway) line,” Swant said when discussing the decision of where to relocate the museum.
Visitors can view engines like a 1906 4-62 Union Pacific steam locomotive and 1901 Great Falls Smelter Railway electric locomotive. There’s also a street car (the last Spokane street car of its kind in existence), as well as coaches that tourists can walk through that have been historically restored.
The two-story indoor and outdoor museum, which is broken into exhibits by railroad, has many artifacts and collectables that tell the story of local railroad history. Items currently under restoration are also on display.
“This is kind of a dual building,” Swant said. “It’s a museum, but it’s also a restoration center. We’re currently working on a (train car), which is a Mt. St. Helen’s buffet car. There’s only two (like it) that were ever made. The other one, Mt. Hood, is in Portland.”
The price of admission, which helps cover museum overhead, includes a ride on a narrow gauge train. Swant said the society hopes for a full-size train ride to be available by next spring on the main rail line.
“We’ll probably be running a (train ride) from here to the other side of Reardan and back,” Swant said.
Business has been down at the museum since its June re-opening. This is partly due to state restrictions on groups being allowed to congregate, which in turn denies schools the ability to take class trips to the museum. Swant said in normal times, schools often take field trips to learn about railway history.
“(Business) is half or less than normal, because people aren’t venturing out as much,” Swant said. “In the summertime, we typically get a lot of drop-ins from tourists on the highway … last year, in the Union that we didn’t have visitors from.”
He added that the museum can still host small groups and birthday parties.
Currently, the museum is open Thursday-Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a fee for admission.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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